Arsene Wenger's first title winners at Arsenal - and where they are now
Arsenal might be approaching 20 years without a Premier League title, but there was a period when the Gunners were riding high under Arsene Wenger.
The legendary manager took over in North London in the mid-90s and wasted little time getting to work. His first league title arrived in 1998 as part of a domestic double, while more followed in 2002 and in the 2004 Invincibles
Current boss Mikel Arteta was part of later Wenger squad more than a decade after that title win, but what of those who went all the way in 1998. Mirror Football has looked at what those players are up to now - focusing on the most frequent starters and regularly-used subs.
David Seaman
Wenger was helped on his arrival by inheriting a solid defence, and goalkeeper Seaman was the man who marshalled it all. The England keeper was fresh off starring in the run to the Euro 96 semis, and was still on top form in his mid-30s.
Seaman kept playing until the age of 40, rounding off his career with Manchester City as Jens Lehmann arrived in North London to take his place. Seaman's one season at City was also the last in which Wenger won a league title, and he was between the sticks as Freddie Ljungberg helped the Gunners secure a 2-1 win at City.
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After retiring, he made the move into reality TV and won the 'Strictly Ice Dancing' show. His wife Frankie has been a regular on Dancing on Ice over the years, and the pair later appeared together on The Masked Dancer.
Lee Dixon
Like Seaman, Dixon won the league with Arsenal in 1991 and repeated the trick seven years later. The England international defender was part of a steady back four under George Graham and helped provide the same solidity under Wenger.
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Lee Dixon moved into punditry after retiring (Daily Mirror)
The England international wasn't part of the World Cup squad that summer, but did return to the international fold briefly in 1999. He stayed on Arsenal's books until 2002, at which point he retired - aged 38 - with another Premier League winner's medal/
Since hanging up his boots, Dixon has been a regular in the punditry studio. After spells with the BBC and ITV - including work on major tournaments - he continued his broadcast career in the United States.
Steve Bould
Another England international, Bould was nearing the end of his career in 1998 and managed just one more season with the Gunners. He rounded off his career with Sunderland, but would eventually return to North London.
That return came as a coach, with the former centre-back building a reputation as a coach of the Gunners' age-group teams. He spent time in charge of the under-18s and under-23s, leaving the latter in 2021.
Bould's first senior club managerial job came with Belgian outfit Lommel, where he remains today. The second-tier club, owned by the City Football Group, sit just outside the promotion play-offs this season.
Tony Adams
Bould's central defensive partner was also the club captain. Adams was one of the great examples of a one-club man, making more than 600 career appearances for Arsenal and none for anyone else, winning four league titles across the Premier League and old First Division.
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Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams was a hit on Strictly Come Dancing (PA)The former England international wasn't afraid to spread his wings in management after retiring. After spells in England with Wycombe and Portsmouth, he tried his luck in Azerbaijan and Spain, but his last spell - at Granada - ended in relegation.
More recently, Adams was seen on Strictly Come Dancing in 2022. He finished ninth with partner Katya Jones after some memorable performances.
Nigel Winterburn
The final member of Arsenal's evergreen back four, Winterburn eventually left in 2000 after more than 400 league games. He rounded off his career on the other side of London with West Ham, but called it a day after the Hammers' relegation in 2003.
After a brief foray into coaching, the left-back turned his hand to punditry. He still keeps a close eye on Arsenal's results, though, and can often be seen sharing old memories and comments on the current vintage on social media.
Winterburn has served as a talking head on TV while also casting his eye over Mikel Arteta's title challenges last season and this. However, he hasn't dipped his toe back into coaching since a short spell under Paul Ince at Blackburn more than a decade ago.
Ray Parlour
A fan favourite in North London, Parlour racked up more than 400 Arsenal appearances in all competitions. He still had a bit more time at the top after that, playing in the Premier League for Middlesbrough and rounding off his career with a year at Hull.
The Romford Pele has been a TV and radio fixture since calling time on his career in 2007. Much of his work has come on talkSPORT, where he can regularly be heard putting his personality into broadcasts.
He has also done plenty of ambassador work for his former club. This included accompanying the squad on their travels to the United States, and was enthusiastic about Arsenal's title hopes when he spoke to Mirror Football ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira would later return to face Arsenal as Crystal Palace manager (Getty Images)France international Vieira arrived in North London a little before Wenger, but it was under his compatriot that he provided his most memorable moments. The midfielder eventually became captain of the side, and his battles with Manchester United counterpart Roy Keane were a memorable part of the rivalry between the two teams.
Vieira's final Arsenal goal was a winning penalty in the 2005 FA Cup final, and he followed that with a productive few years in Italy with Juventus and Inter Milan. After ending his career with Manchester City, he began a second act as a coach - first with City's youngsters and then in the United States and France.
The former Arsenal favourite took his first Premier League managerial job in 2021, at Crystal Palace, but was sacked after a poor run midway through his second season. He took over at Strasbourg over the summer after the team narrowly escaped relegation from Ligue 1 last term.
Emmanuel Petit
Vieira's compatriot and team-mate, Petit followed the title win by scoring the clincher as France won the 1998 World Cup final. He was also part of Les Bleus' squad for their Euro 2000 success, though he didn't play in the final that year.
The summer of 2000 was also when he left Arsenal for Barcelona, though he only spent a season with the Catalan club. Chelsea gave him a route back to the Premier League, and that's where he rounded off his career before retiring in 2004.
Since retiring, Petit has done punditry work and also served as an ambassador for the Homeless World Cup. The competition, which first took place in 2003, was won by Chile in its most recent edition.
Marc Overmars
Overmars joined Petit in moving to Barcelona in 2000, with the pair costing a combined sum north of £30m. Unlike his team-mate, though, he had a longer spell at Camp Nou before retiring in 2004.
He would later come out of retirement to spend a season in his native Netherlands with Go Ahead Eagles. It was at another of his former clubs, however, where the Dutchman would spend his post-playing career.
Overmars spent a decade back at Ajax as director of football, but stepped down in 2022 after admitting sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues. He now occupies a similar position with Belgian club Royal Antwerp.
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp went on to become an Invincible (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)One of Arsenal's most decorated players, Bergkamp is also one of the men present for all three of the Gunners' Premier League title wins under Wenger. He spent 11 years with the Gunners, scoring 120 goals in all competitions, before eventually leaving in 2006.
The Dutch international followed the 1997-98 title win by scoring one of the all-time great World Cup goals for his country against Argentina. The Oranje failed to go all the way, though, falling to Brazil at the semi-final stage.
Bergkamp's daughter Estelle is the partner of Manchester United and Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek. The couple welcomed their first child together in 2022.
Ian Wright
After becoming Arsenal's all-time record scorer, a record which was later claimed by Thierry Henry, Wright finally ended his wait for a league title with the Gunners in 1998. He ended up with 185 Gunners goals, a tally which only Henry has been able to pass.
Wright left for West Ham in the summer after the title win, and top-scored for the Hammers as they finished fifth, but that was his only full season in East London. After stints with Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley, he retired in 2001.
The popular former England international is now a regular in the punditry studio, while he's part of a multi-generational footballing family. After sons Shaun and Bradley Wright-Phillips both scored goals in lengthy careers, Ian's grandson and Shaun's son D'Margio netted for the first time in his career in 2022.
Martin Keown
An Arsenal stalwart for many years, Keown shared centre-back duties with Bould in the 1997-98 season. He played more regularly over the following years, and also earned a title winner's medal in both 2002 and 2004.
Keown left Arsenal after their Invincibles season, but his playing career didn't last much longer. After spells with Leicester and Reading, he hung up his boots in 2005.
After retiring, Keown spent a number of years as a scout for Arsenal. He has also been a TV regular, with punditry gigs on a variety of broadcasts over the years.
Gilles Grimandi
Part of the influx of French players under Wenger, Grimandi was a solid squad player after arriving from the manager's former club Monaco. He made more than 100 league appearances over five years, but would eventually retire aged just 33 after a short-lived move to Major League Soccer.
Like Keown, the defender worked as a scout for his former employers after hanging up his boots. He spent more than a decade back in North London, eventually leaving his second Arsenal role during Unai Emery's time as manager.
Grimandi took over as technical director at Nice in 2019. He spent less than a year with the Ligue 1 side, though, leaving midway through former team-mate Vieira's second season in the dugout.
Nicolas Anelka
Anelka would eventually retire with a decorated career, but back in the 1997-98 season he was just a youngster on whom Wenger took a gamble. Picked up for just £500,000 as a teenager, the French talent's 28 goals in 90 games prompted Real Madrid to part with what at the time was a hefty £22m transfer fee.
He won the Champions League with Los Blancos in 2000, before embarking on a nomadic career which saw him play in several countries. That included a return to England, where he helped Chelsea win the Premier League under Carlo Ancelotti.
At the end of a decorated playing career, Anelka dipped his toe into management with his final club, Mumbai City. Most recently, he served as sporting director with French lower-league side Hyeres in 2021.
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