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2003–04 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal
2003–04 season
Chairman Peter Hill-Wood
Manager Arsène Wenger
Stadium Highbury
FA Premier League 1st
FA Cup Semi-finals
League Cup Semi-finals
FA Community Shield Runners-up
UEFA Champions League Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer League:
Thierry Henry (30)

All:
Thierry Henry (39)
Highest home attendance 38,184 vs Manchester United
(28 March 2004)
Lowest home attendance 27,451 vs Rotherham United
(28 October 2003)
Average home league attendance 38,078

The 2003–04 season was the 109th in the history of Arsenal Football Club. It began on 1 July 2003 and concluded on 30 June 2004, with competitive matches played between August and May. The club ended the Premier League campaign as champions without a single defeat – a record of 26 wins and 12 draws. Arsenal fared less well in the cups, eliminated in the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals to Manchester United and Middlesbrough respectively, and at the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League to Chelsea.

Arsenal did little business in the transfer market early in the season due to the financial demands that came with the club's new stadium project. The main addition to the first team was goalkeeper Jens Lehmann for £1.5 million; striker José Antonio Reyes was later purchased in the winter transfer window. Arsenal retained their best players and successfully negotiated new contracts for captain Patrick Vieira and midfielder Robert Pirès. The stability of the squad meant Arsenal were considered front-runners for the Premier League title, along with Manchester United, and Chelsea who were taken over by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

A strong start to the season saw Arsenal top the league table after four matches. The team's draw at Manchester United in September marked an unsavoury episode between both clubs: several Arsenal players were charged and fined accordingly by The Football Association for their part in a mass brawl that occurred after the match. In November, Arsenal beat Dynamo Kyiv by a single goal and more impressively scored five against Inter Milan at the San Siro – two results which kick-started their Champions League campaign. At the turn of the year, the team won nine league matches in a row to consolidate first position. In the first week of April, they were eliminated from the FA Cup and Champions League, but by the end of the month had secured their status as league champions, with a 2–2 draw against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.


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