Arsene Wenger built arguably the greatest side in Premier League history in the Invincibles, but the Arsenal legend had to make some difficult decisions.
Despite the quality within the squad, Arsenal were going through something of a transition. Tony Adams and David Seaman had retired, whilst a lot of the old guard including Martin Keown and Ray Parlour were coming towards their final years at the club.
Wenger revolutionised English football by bringing in bargain players from abroad and introducing a technical, attacking style to the game, and one of his greatest-ever signings was defender Kolo Toure.
Toure was signed from Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas in 2002, and played in a variety of positions before becoming the centre-back to partner Sol Campbell on the way to a historic undefeated season.
He did this by usurping Keown from the starting XI, which was no easy feat given how Keown had established himself as an Arsenal legend over the years.
How Kolo Toure earned his Arsenal starting spot
Speaking to The Athletic, Toure revealed that he had to speak to Wenger to convince him to play at centre-half, and when the opportunity arose, he took it, whilst trying to offer something different to Keown and Campbell.
“In the summer of 2003, I went to see Mr Wenger and said, ‘Listen, boss, this season I don’t want to play all over the pitch. I want to perfect one position. I want to play centre-back so I learn that role and become the best I can be’,” he stated.
“Martin Keown got injured in one of the friendly games in preseason — I came in and never left the position.
“We kept winning. Sometimes I felt a bit hurt or tired, but I never wanted to come out of the team. I played game after game.
“I watched Martin and Sol and thought, ‘What can I bring to the team? What will be my USP?’.
“Both of them were very good in the air, both of them were good technically, but not amazing. My technique was OK. I thought, ‘This team wants to build from the back a lot. I will be the one who, every time the goalkeeper has the ball, will ask for the ball — passing from the back, passing between the lines’.”
Kolo Toure’s importance to the Arsenal Invincibles
Toure is one of the best-value signings in Arsenal’s history, and is a popular legend among the fanbase even today.
His ability on the ball as a defender was arguably ahead of his time, as the likes of William Saliba and John Stones are now renowned for being technically gifted in addition to their strength.
As good as Keown was, he was from a different generation of defenders, who simply had to focus on tackling and defensive awareness. Toure also brought a strong ability on the ball, and this helped the likes of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva in midfield.
The Invincibles were perhaps the perfect blend of power, speed and technical quality all over the pitch, and Toure was a crucial figure in what was Arsenal’s last side to win the Premier League title.
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