Thierry Henry, Declan Rice, Dennis Bergkamp & Bukayo Saka: Which members of Arsenal’s Premier League title-winning class of 2026 would make Invincibles team?

Arsenal are Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years, but this achievement has sparked an intriguing debate about how their 2026-27 title-winning squad would measure up against the legendary Invincibles of 2003-04. Graham Stack, a former goalkeeper from that historic side, has been tasked with the impossible job of comparing two generations separated by over two decades of tactical evolution and player development.

The Invincibles Standard

The benchmark against which all modern Arsenal sides are measured remains staggeringly high. The Invincibles achieved 90 points across 38 Premier League fixtures with 26 wins and 12 draws, remarkably going unbeaten throughout the entire campaign. Nobody before or since has managed to emulate that feat in the English top-flight. Even managers of the calibre of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have all fallen short in that department, making the achievement one of the most difficult records to erase from the history books.

The Comparison Debate

When asked to mix and match across the two generations, Stack acknowledged the profound changes football has undergone. "The game has completely changed," he stated. "One thing that hasn't changed is winning and Arsenal in terms of that team had that mentality of not getting beat. So overall I actually think there's a massive argument to say that football has gone backwards."

Stack drew particular attention to the quality of opposition faced by the Invincibles. "When Arsenal with the Invincibles you're playing against your Chelsea teams and United for example and arguably your Liverpools as well. When you're talking about what was in the Premier League at that time with the quality of your Lampards your Terrys your Ferdinands your Drogbas your Vidics the list is endless. And I do think it was a lot harder to do it then than it is now in my opinion."

The Untouchables

In Stack's view, any meaningful comparison must acknowledge which players simply cannot be replaced. "I'd hate to go player for player but I think it'll be a 50-50 I really do," he said. "I think there's certain players in that Invincibles team you just can't take out - your Thierrys your Dennis your Vieiras Sol Campbell for example Ashley Cole. There's five straight away and then you start throwing Robert Pires in there."

The modern squad's representatives in this debate include David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, all pushing for inclusion in the Invincibles side. Stack suggested that Pires' position on the left might make room for one of the current generation, and acknowledged arguments could be made about other Invincibles squad members, noting that Gilberto Silva "won a World Cup for example."

The Path Forward

The fundamental challenge that Rice, Saka and their teammates face now extends beyond a single season comparison. They must become winners of multiple titles while making their own history on the trophy front. For now, Arsenal's task begins with defending their newly won crown against rivals whose managerial changes have created uncertainty about their direction, a stability that Stack's assessment suggests remains Arsenal's greatest advantage heading into the 2026-27 campaign.