Patrick Vieira names which Arsenal team was actually ‘much stronger’ than the Invincibles

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Patrick Vieira has named the Arsenal team he believes was actually stronger than the legendary Invincibles side.

The Gunners have been blessed with some truly iconic teams across the years, from George Graham’s historic 1989 title-winning side to the 1971 double-winning side that claimed the league title at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane.

And of course, there’s the Invincibles, a team many would argue is the greatest the Premier League has ever seen as Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to the title unbeaten, a feat that has not been matched in the English top-flight.

However, Vieira now believes that there is an Arsenal squad that was stronger than the Invincibles.

Vieira says Arsenal’s ’98 side was better than the Invincibles

Speaking on Stick to Football, the Arsenal legend made the point that the double-winning side of 1998 was ‘much stronger’ mentally than the Invincibles, a season where Vieira formed an iconic midfield partnership with Emmanuel Petit.

Wenger’s first full season in charge at Arsenal, the north London side were electric that season as the likes of Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka ran riot for the Gunners, with Tony Adams marshaling the back in an iconic back five featuring David Seaman, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon.

READ MORE: All Arsenal legends in the Premier League Hall of Fame from Henry to Wenger

Vieira said: “I think the ’98 team was more competitive, more aggressive, less quality overall, but they’re competitors, so we can go somewhere where we wouldn’t play well, but I think it was the idea to manage and win games 1-0, because of the pace up front and the people making a difference.

“I think that generation where we saw Campbell and Henry, we had more quality players, more creativity, more playing the one-v-one, the technical level of that team was much, much higher. Football-wise, that generation was better, but mentally, the ’98 side was much stronger.”

Invincibles edge out over ’98 side due to historic achievement

For many Arsenal fans, the 1998 squad will go down as their favourite given the manner of which the Gunners won the league and FA Cup as well as the seeds Wenger planted that year that would go on to change English football forever.

However, when it comes to directly comparing the two sides, it’s hard to look past the Invincibles and what that squad managed to do with the likes of Theirry Henry, Ashley Cole and Gilberto Silva.

Indeed, no Premier League is yet to come close to matching Arsenal’s unbeaten record, and it’s unlikely that a team ever will given the nature the league now finds itself in, where anyone can beat anyone.