13 forgotten Arsenal Invincibles barely seen during historic Gunners season
Any Arsenal fan will be able to tell you stories from the stars of the Invincibles season, but there were plenty of unsung heroes who rarely get as much of a mention.
Arsene Wenger's team went an entire season unbeaten in 2003-04, rounding off the achievement with a comeback victory over Leicester on May 15. After the class of 2022-23 saw their own title hopes go up in smoke with a defeat at home to Brighton, Mikel Arteta's men will now look to mark the 20th anniversary of the iconic campaign by ending their drought next time around.
While the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Ashley Cole stood out for the Gunners, others barely got a look-in as the first-team racked up 90 points. Here, Mirror Football looks at what happened to the 13 Invincibles who played five or fewer games but are no less deserving of immortality.
Francis Jeffers
Jeffers didn't end the season with Arsenal, but he started there. Arsene Wenger's 'Fox in the Box' had a brief cameo in the Community Shield, picking up a red card just 13 minutes after coming off the bench, before rejoining former club Everton on loan for the year.
The striker left permanently in the summer of 2004, and had a nomadic later career before retiring at the age of 32 in 2013. He has since moved into coaching, and is working under his former Everton team-mate David Unsworth at National League side Oldham Athletic.
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Giovanni van Bronckhorst
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Giovanni van Bronckhorst reached the 2022 Europa League final as a manager (Getty Images)
The second player to leave mid-season, Van Bronckhorst left on loan to Barcelona after a Community Shield cameo and completed a permanent summer switch. He would go on to play the full 90 against his former club in the 2006 Champions League final as Barca came from behind to beat Arsenal in Paris.
The Dutch international retired after making his final appearance in the 2010 World Cup final, and followed it with a career in management. He led Rangers to the 2022 Europa League final, but was sacked after a tough start to the current campaign.
Stathis Tavlaridis
After making his Premier League debut at the end of the previous season, Tavlaridis played three times in the 2003-04 League Cup. His final game in that competition - and his last for Arsenal - came in December 2003.
Stathis Tavlaridis played for Lille against Man Utd in two Champions League campaigns (PA)The Greek defender's Lille career was more successful, and included a famous victory over Manchester United in the 2005-06 Champions League. He recently served as sporting director with AE Larisa, but left towards the end of the current season with the team failing to earn promotion back to Greece's top flight.
Michal Papadopulos
A Czech youth international, Papadopulos played just once for Arsenal. That game was a seven-minute League Cup outing from the bench, replacing Jeremie Aliadiere towards the end of a 5-1 victory over Wolves.
The forward eventually left for Bayer Leverkusen in 2006, and has also spent time in the Netherlands, Russia and Poland (where he won the title in 2019). He is still going at 38, playing 20 games for MFK Karvina this season in the Czech second tier.
Graham Stack
Graham Stack was Arsenal's League Cup keeper in 2003-04 (Press Association)Backup keeper Stack played five times for Arsenal in the 2003-04 season. All of them came in the League Cup, with Wenger's team eventually falling to Middlesbrough at the semi-final stage.
The Irishman spent most of his career in the English lower leagues, and also spent time in Scotland and India. He has spent time on the coaching staff of clubs including Watford and Cardiff, and joined Colchester United as goalkeeping coach in March.
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Justin Hoyte
Versatile defender Hoyte played more than 50 times for Arsenal after coming through the academy. Just one of his three appearances in the 2003-04 season came in the league, though, as a late replacement for Pires in a 3-0 win away to Birmingham City.
Justin Hoyte would go on to feature more than 30 times for Arsenal in the league (Press Association)A Trinidad and Tobago international, Hoyte also played Premier League football for Gareth Southgate's Middlesbrough team after completing a seven-figure move in 2008. He wound down his career in the United States with Cincinnati FC and Miami Beach CF.
Frank Simek
Simek, later a United States international, was a teenager during the Invincibles season. His entire Arsenal first-team career boiled down to 90 minutes in the aforementioned win against Wolves, and he left for good in 2005 after a couple of loans.
The defender carved out a solid lower-league career after leaving North London. He played more than 100 league games for both Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle, but retired in 2013 after a tough time with injuries.
John Spicer
Spicer's one and only Arsenal game came in the League Cup against Rotherham. The midfielder replaced Hoyte towards the end of extra-time, and played his part in an epic penalty shoot-out which the Gunners eventually won 9-8.
He played more than 200 times in the Football League after leaving Arsenal. The last of those games came for Southend in 2013, where his team-mates included Wales international Freddy Eastwood and current Wolves keeper Dan Bentley.
Jerome Thomas
Jerome Thomas carved out a top-flight career with West Brom (BPM)While Thomas never played a league game for Arsenal, the winger did go on to play top-flight football. That began on loan at Charlton in the second half of the 2003-04 season, and continued with a permanent move to The Valley at the end of the season.
The academy graduate also played in the Premier League for West Brom and Crystal Palace, including a handful of games against his boyhood club. He is now at Brighton, where he was recently appointed as a youth scouting co-ordinator, having held similar roles at Chelsea, Everton and Watford.
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Young forward Quincy was another cup-only player in 2003-04, but made his Premier League debut against Portsmouth the following season. He would later move to Fratton Park for a few months during a nomadic career.
Former Arsenal starlet Quincy Owusu-Abeyie has embarked on a career in music (PA)The Dutch-born Ghana international also played Champions League football during spells in Russia and Greece. Now well into his thirties, he has begun a new career as a rapper with the alias 'BLOW'.
Olafur Ingi Skulason
Icelandic midfielder Skulason made his senior international debut in 2003, the same year in which he made his only senior Arsenal appearance. He stayed in England after leaving Highbury, spending two years with Brentford, and has played in several countries.
Now retired, he has been manager of Iceland's under-19 side since 2021. He led his country to this summer's Euros, beating England along the way with a 1-0 victory over a team containing current Arsenal youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry.
Ryan Smith
Smith came on as a sub in three of Arsenal's games during the League Cup run. He added three more outings in the same competition the following season, but never made it onto the pitch in the Premier League.
All of Ryan Smith's Arsenal appearances came in cup competitions (Daily Mirror)The winger spent the next few years in England before rounding off his career with spells in the United States and Greece. He is now a licensed intermediary, and part of the Sporting Talent agency whose clients include Chelsea youngster Mason Burstow.
Cesc Fabregas
Okay, this one's a little different from the others. Not only did Fabregas add to his three cup appearances in the years to come, but he eventually became a club captain.
The Spanish international would become a World Cup winner with his country, and followed his 300+ Gunners outings with stints at Barcelona, Chelsea and Monaco. He joined Como in 2022, becoming a part-owner of the Serie B club and sharing his experience with Mirror Football as he also prolongs a trophy-laden playing career.
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