Soccer: More than 250,000 fans turned out to watch Arsenal's victory parade from Highbury to Islington Town Hall yesterday. As supporters celebrated, the Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, remarked he had merely been "too early" when he suggested a couple of summers ago that his team could go a league season undefeated.
There was no hint the Frenchman was joking, though, when he stated he would not have swapped Arsenal's unbeaten Premiership campaign for success in the Champions League.
The claim was so hard to take seriously that clarification was required.
Perhaps the manager had got through too much champagne. Would he really not have traded a piece of history with no trophy for a first taste of glory in Europe's top club competition?
"Really," Wenger said, "because it's something special. You know what I would love to do is this and win the Champions League together.
"You have every year a team who wins the Champions League, but you have not every year a team who makes a record like this. It is difficult to compare because I do not want to take anything away from the Champions League, but it is something unique that will remain. Especially in a championship as difficult as the English championship is now."
Wenger said that at the start of this season he had "never expected" his team to be capable of such a feat, which they completed with a 2-1 defeat of Leicester City on Saturday - and was also the last Premiership match for the referee Paul Durkin.
As the festivities continued yesterday, with the manager appearing on Breakfast with Frost and joining the open-top bus parade through Islington, thoughts moved to the future.
Wenger confirmed that Sylvain Wiltord will leave this summer, but few are rushing for the exit.
"We feel the club is going in the right direction," said Patrick Vieira. "We will have a new stadium and everything looks really exciting for the future."
It was a point picked up by Martin Keown, who will be departing with a third championship medal. "I feel this team is capable of lots of great things," he said. "This is just the beginning. It might be the end for me, but it's the beginning of something special for Arsenal."
The defender admitted the club need to conquer Europe to be considered a "great team", and repeat their Premiership success.
"The next couple of years are vital," he said. "When the new stadium is there for us, maybe Arsenal can go on to dominate."
What has helped Arsenal is the success with which they have kept together the core of their squad over recent years. Thierry Henry spelled out his loyalty to Arsenal in stark terms.
"You can get some players who spend two or three years at a club and then leave, then have two or three at another club and a third, but all the time I see them kissing the badge when they score," the striker said.
"But sometimes you have players who look like they're happy and still leave. That's not the way I see things. I'm happy and I don't see why I should leave. I think it's the same for Patrick and Arsene."
Wenger's achievements need to be seen in the context of his club's relative financial weakness. He anticipates a strong challenge next season. "We are competing with Chelsea and Manchester United with their unlimited resources," he said, "and I expect Liverpool and Newcastle to join in as well."
One of the big aims is to finally succeed in the Champions League. "Yes of course," Wenger said, "but we do not want to make an obsession of it. The more you do that the less you are likely to win it.
"I hope the players won't get a mental block about Europe. It's just important to do well in your own championship first."
Wenger notes the underlying irony in the fact Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League this season by Chelsea, a club they had not lost to in 17 previous domestic encounters.
"We weren't knocked out by Juventus or AC Milan, but by Chelsea - and we know we can beat Chelsea, we know they are not a better side than us," he insisted.
"So I believe we are not far away. Just before we lost to Chelsea, we had won five European Cup games on the trot."
Wenger nevertheless believes English teams are not properly protected in Europe by the fixture list, so the FA Cup could be compromised next season.
"I don't want to look for excuses, and it's not all of the explanation, but it's part of it. If we are in the same situation again, we will have to make a choice," he explained.
Aug: 16th: Arsenal 2 (Henry pen, Pires), Everton 1
Aug 24th: Middlesbrough 0 Arsenal 4 (Henry, Gilberto, Wiltord 2)
Aug 27th: Arsenal 2 (Campbell, Henry), Aston Villa 0
Aug 31st: Man City 1 Arsenal 2 (Wiltord, Ljungberg)
Sept 13th: Arsenal 1 (Henry pen), Portsmouth 1
Sept 21st: Manchester Utd 0 Arsenal 0
Sept 26th: Arsenal 3 (Henry 2, 1pen, Gilberto), Newcastle 2
Oct 4th: Liverpool 1 Arsenal 2 (Pires, Hyppia o.g.)
Oct 18th: Arsenal 2 (Edu, Henry), Chelsea 1
Oct 26th: Charlton 1 Arsenal 1 (Henry)
Nov 1st: Leeds 1, Arsenal 4 (Henry 2, Pires, Gilberto)
Nov 8th: Arsenal 2 (Pires, Ljungberg), Tottenham 1
Nov 22nd: Birmingham 0 Arsenal 3 (Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Pires)
Nov 30th: Arsenal 0 Fulham 0
Dec 6th: Leicester 1 Arsenal 1 (Gilberto)
Dec 14th: Arsenal 1 (Bergkamp), Blackburn 0
Dec 20th: Bolton 1 Arsenal 1 (Pires)
Dec 26th: Arsenal 3 (Henry 2, Craddock o.g.), Wolves 0
Dec 29th: Southampton 0 Arsenal 1 (Pires)
Jan 7th: Everton 1, Arsenal 1 (Kanu)
Jan 10th: Arsenal 4 (Henry, Pires, Ljungberg, Queudrue o.g.), Middlesbrough 1
Jan 18th: Aston Villa 0, Arsenal 2 (Henry 2)
Feb 1st: Arsenal 2 (Tarnat o.g., Henry), Man City 1
Feb 7th: Wolves 1 Arsenal 3 (Bergkamp, Henry, Toure)
Feb 10th: Arsenal 2 (Henry 2), Southampton 0
Feb 21st: Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2 (Vieira, Edu)
Feb 28th: Arsenal 2 (Pires, Henry), Charlton 1
Mar 13th: Blackburn 0, Arsenal 2 (Henry, Pires)
Mar 20th: Arsenal 2 (Pires, Bergkamp), Bolton 1
Mar 28th: Arsenal 1 (Henry), Manchester United 1
Apr 9th: Arsenal 4 (Henry 3, Pires), Liverpool 2
Apr 11th: Newcastle 0, Arsenal 0
Apr 16th: Arsenal 5 (Henry 4, Pires), Leeds 0
Apr 25th: Tottenham 2 Arsenal 2 (Vieira, Pires)
May 1st: Arsenal 0 Birmingham 0
May 4th: Portsmouth 1, Arsenal 1 (Reyes).
May 9th: Fulham 0 Arsenal 1 (Reyes)
May 15th: Arsenal 2 (Henry, Vieira)
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