25 September 2002 - Arsenal's Quick Silva

On 25 September 2002, midfielder Gilberto Silva scored a record goal to help Arsenal cruise past PSV in the Champions League group stage.

PSV hosted the Gunners in Eindhoven for the game, which was the second of the tournament for both teams. Arsenal took the opening kick-off and Silva immediately raced unmarked down the center of pitch, where he received a cross from teammate Thierry Henry, then knocked the ball into the net. The official time for the goal was 20.07 seconds, making it the fastest goal in European Cup/Champions League history up to that point, narrowly beating Alessandro del Piero's time of 20.12, set in a 1997 match for Juventus against Manchester United.

The day did not get any better for PSV. After Arsenal keeper saved their best chance of the day--a 22nd-minute shot from Mateja Kezman--the hosts went on to surrender three more goals to Freddie Ljungberg (66') and Henry (81', 90') and lost 0-4.

PSV did better in the return leg, holding Arsenal to a scoreless draw in London, but the result eliminated them from the competition. Arsenal advanced, but were knocked out in the second group stage.

Silva's record lasted until March 2007, when Bayern Munich's Roy Makaay scored against Real Madrid after only 10.12 seconds.

13 September 2006 - Footballers Of The World, Unite!

On 13 September 2006, Arsenal defeated Hamburg 1-2 in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match before a crowd of 51,258 at Arena Hamburg. The match was notable for the fact that, for a 42-minute period, the Arsenal side was comprised of 11 different nationalities.

Arsenal's starting eleven included ten different nationalities. The only duplicate was the Ivory Coast, due to the presence of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboué in defense. Toure suffered a thigh injury, however, and was replaced by Justin Hoyte in the 28th minute. At that point, the Gunners on the pitch were Jens Lehmann (Germany), Emmanuel Eboué (Ivory Coast), Johann Djourou (Switzerland), Justin Hoyte (England), William Gallas (France), Tomáš Rosický (Czech Republic), Gilberto Silva (Brazil), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Alexander Hleb (Belarus), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), and Robin van Persie (Netherlands). That combination lasted until the 69th minute, when van Persie was substituted in favor of a second Brazilian, striker Julio Baptista.

The match itself was never in doubt, as Hamburg keeper Sascha Kirschstein was sent off in the 10th minute for tripping van Persie. Gilberto converted the ensuing spot kick and Rosický added a second goal in the 53rd minute. Hamburg's Boubacar Sanogo pulled one back in the 90th minute, but it was too late for the undermanned side to complete a comeback and the match ended 1-2 in Arsenal's favor.

As if eleven nationalities weren't enough, Arsenal had two more nations represented on the bench with Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg and Cameroon's Alex Song.

19 August 2006 - Not The Housewarming Present They Would have Liked

On 19 August 2006, Arsenal played their first competitive game at the new Emirates Stadium, drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa.

Built over a three-year period with a construction cost of £390 million, the stadium replaced Arsenal's previous home, Highbury, and expanded the club's match-day capacity from 38,000 to over 60,300. A slightly less-than-capacity crowd of 60,023 turned up for the the first competitive game there on the Premier League's opening weekend, with Aston Villa as the guests of honor.

It was a close contest, remaining scoreless through the first half, but Villa managed to break the deadlock early in the second when captain Olof Mellberg headed home from a 53rd-minute corner kick.

Corner kicks became the theme of the day. Arsenal substitute Theo Walcott came on in the 73rd minute and, eleven minutes later, sent in a cross that dropped at the feet of midfielder Gilberto Silva, who prodded it home to earn a share of the points.

6 May 2007 - The Red Devils Reclaim The Title

On 6 May 2007, Manchester United won their sixteenth league title after challengers Chelsea drew with Arsenal.

United started the season seeking their first league honors since 2003, with both Arsenal (2004) and Chelsea (2005, 2006) lifting the trophy in the interim. True to their mission, they claimed the top spot on 1 October and held on to it for the remainder of the season, with only Chelsea staying within touching distance. After beating Manchester City on 5 May, Manchester United were eight points clear of Chelsea, who had three games left to play.

The first of those three games was away at Arsenal. There, the defending champions suffered an early blow with the loss of defender Khalid Boulahrouz (pictured) to a red card in the 43rd minute. Compounding their injury, the foul led to a penalty that was converted by Arsenal's Gilberto Silva, putting them down 1-0 at the break.

Despite the man disadvantage, Chelsea fought back to earn a draw with a diving 70th-minute header from Michael Essien. It was the second 1-1 draw Essien had salvaged against Arsenal that season, but it wasn't enough to deny the title to United, who went on to win four of the next six trophies.

25 September 2002 - Arsenal's Quick Silva

On 25 September 2002, midfielder Gilberto Silva scored a record goal to help Arsenal cruise past PSV in the Champions League group stage.

PSV hosted the Gunners in Eindhoven for the game, which was the second of the tournament for both teams. Arsenal took the opening kick-off and Silva immediately raced unmarked down the center of pitch, where he received a cross from teammate Thierry Henry, then knocked the ball into the net. The official time for the goal was 20.07 seconds, making it the fastest goal in European Cup/Champions League history up to that point, narrowly beating Alessandro del Piero's time of 20.12, set in a 1997 match for Juventus against Manchester United.

The day did not get any better for PSV. After Arsenal keeper saved their best chance of the day--a 22nd-minute shot from Mateja Kezman--the hosts went on to surrender three more goals to Freddie Ljungberg (66') and Henry (81', 90') and lost 0-4.

PSV did better in the return leg, holding Arsenal to a scoreless draw in London, but the result eliminated them from the competition. Arsenal advanced, but were knocked out in the second group stage.

Silva's record lasted until March 2007, when Bayern Munich's Roy Makaay scored against Real Madrid after only 10.12 seconds.

13 September 2006 - Footballers Of The World, Unite!

On 13 September 2006, Arsenal defeated Hamburg 1-2 in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match before a crowd of 51,258 at Arena Hamburg. The match was notable for the fact that, for a 42-minute period, the Arsenal side was comprised of 11 different nationalities.

Arsenal's starting eleven included ten different nationalities. The only duplicate was the Ivory Coast, due to the presence of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboué in defense. Toure suffered a thigh injury, however, and was replaced by Justin Hoyte in the 28th minute. At that point, the Gunners on the pitch were Jens Lehmann (Germany), Emmanuel Eboué (Ivory Coast), Johann Djourou (Switzerland), Justin Hoyte (England), William Gallas (France), Tomáš Rosický (Czech Republic), Gilberto Silva (Brazil), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Alexander Hleb (Belarus), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), and Robin van Persie (Netherlands). That combination lasted until the 69th minute, when van Persie was substituted in favor of a second Brazilian, striker Julio Baptista.

The match itself was never in doubt, as Hamburg keeper Sascha Kirschstein was sent off in the 10th minute for tripping van Persie. Gilberto converted the ensuing spot kick and Rosický added a second goal in the 53rd minute. Hamburg's Boubacar Sanogo pulled one back in the 90th minute, but it was too late for the undermanned side to complete a comeback and the match ended 1-2 in Arsenal's favor.

As if eleven nationalities weren't enough, Arsenal had two more nations represented on the bench with Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg and Cameroon's Alex Song.