Arsenal beat Real Madrid under the lights at the Emirates in what many are calling one of the greatest Champions League nights Arsenal have ever had. There is no doubt it is the best performance that Arsenal have had on the European stage at the Emirates, and both of Declan Rice’s freekicks will go down in Arsenal folklore forever more. It is not Arsenal’s first time in the UEFA Champions League knockouts, and they have gone even further in the past.
When was the last time Arsenal won the Champions League?
Arsenal have, in fact, never won the Champions League in its current or previous forms. The Champions League, under its current guise, has been around since 1992 after being introduced as the European Cup in 1995. They have featured in two European Cups - 1971/72 and 1991/92 - and 21 Champions League campaigns.
The best Arsenal have ever done in the Champions League is reach the final, which they did in the 2005/06 season, the last season the club ever had at their old ground Highbury. In this campaign, Arsenal finished top of their group that included Ajax, Thun and Sparta Prague.
Their reward for coming first was a knockout tie against Los Blancos, Real Madrid. This was the first time the two teams had ever met in European competition and, much like this season, Arsenal came out on top, winning 1-0 at the Bernabeu thanks to a 47th-minute goal by Thierry Henry. The return leg finished 0-0 and Arsenal went through.
Next was Italian giants Juventus, whom Arsenal beat 2-0 in the first leg and drew 0-0 in the second. In the semifinals, Arsenal played Villareal, and true to form, the Gunners won the first leg 1-0 before dramatically drawing the second when Jens Lehmann saved Juan Roman Riquelme’s 90th-minute penalty to keep the score at 0-0 and send Arsenal through to the final.
In the final, Arsenal’s vanquishers would be Barcelona. The side from North London would go down to 10 men when semifinal hero Lehmann turned to villain as he became the first player to be sent off in a European Cup final as he saw red after 18 minutes. The disadvantage did not show as Sol Campbell powered in a header in the 37th minute to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. This lead would be intact until the 76th minute when Samuel Eto’o brought Barcelona level before Juliano Belletti scored the winner four minutes later to win the game 2-1.
When did Arsenal last win a trophy?
Whilst Arsenal may not have won the Champions League, Arsenal have won many trophies in their time. The trophy that Arsenal won most recently was the 2020 FA Cup. This is the only trophy that Mikel Arteta has won whilst Arsenal have been under his tutelage.
Arsenal made it to the final, beating Leeds United, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield United and Manchester City on the way. Arsenal’s 2019/20 FA Cup final opponents were Chelsea who they had defeated in the exact same fixture in the 2016/17 season.
The game was played on August 1st, 2020, rather than its scheduled spot on May 23rd, 2020. This is because football in 2020 was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chelsea started the rescheduled final well and went 1-0 in the 5th minute thanks to Christian Pulisic. Arsenal however rallied and won the game 2-1 in the end, thanks to a double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the first from the spot.
Technically, Arsenal have won a cup more recently, winning the Community Shield in 2023. However, with the Community Shield being a super cup and acts as the curtain raiser to the Premier League season rather than being a normally recognised trophy.
When did Arsenal last win the Premier League?
The last time that Arsenal won the Premier League was in the 2003/04 season under Arsene Wenger. This season was the season of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ where they went the whole season unbeaten. Overall, Wenger’s team won 26 of their 38 games, drawing the other 12 and, in total, went 49 games unbeaten over three seasons. Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten after Preston North End did the same in 1888/89, but when there were only 22 games. Arsenal’s run of 49 games unbeaten was finally ended in the 2004/05 season by Manchester United in October.