Arsenal 97/98 — The Double: Full Squad & Ratings

Arsenal 1997/98 season — all 18 players rated, best XI, and how to draft them in 38-0.

Arsenal 1997/98 — Season Story

Arsene Wenger's first full season in English football is remembered as one of the great turnarounds in Premier League history. The Frenchman had arrived in October 1996 with little fanfare, and his first summer at Highbury reshaped the squad: Marc Overmars arrived from Ajax for 7 million pounds, Emmanuel Petit followed from Monaco, and an 18-year-old Nicolas Anelka was prised away from Paris Saint-Germain. Few pundits expected the new-look Arsenal to challenge Manchester United, and through the autumn they looked right — by December, United led the table by as many as twelve points.

The story of the run-in has become folklore. Between late February and the end of the season, Arsenal won ten league games in a row, turning a lost cause into a title procession. The defining afternoon came on 14 March 1998 at Old Trafford, where Marc Overmars raced clear to score the only goal and end United's long unbeaten home record. From that moment the pressure flipped: United blinked in the spring run-in while Wenger's side simply kept winning, and the title was settled by a single point — 78 to 77.

The Double was completed in the FA Cup final at Wembley against Newcastle. Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring with a calm first-half finish, and Overmars sealed a 2-0 win in the closing minutes with another burst of pace. It was the club's second league and cup Double, and the first under Wenger, whose methods — diet, sports science, video analysis — were being copied across the league within a year.

The 1997/98 Arsenal squad also wrote its name into club history through Ian Wright. During the run-in Wright surpassed Cliff Bastin's all-time Arsenal scoring record, a milestone that had stood since 1939, and finished the season as the club's leading scorer in the league. Between Wright's hunger, Bergkamp's vision and the old back four's steel, this was the squad that convinced the football world Wenger's revolution was real.

The Old Trafford Turnaround

For the first half of the season, Manchester United looked untouchable. They had not lost a league game at Old Trafford in well over a year, and Arsenal arrived in March still chasing a double-digit deficit. The goal, when it came, was pure Wenger-ball: a quick turnover in midfield, a pass threaded into space behind the United defence, and Overmars — the fastest player on the pitch by a distance — finishing first time past Peter Schmeichel.

That single result did more than close the points gap. It changed the psychology of the title race. United suddenly looked vulnerable at home, Arsenal suddenly believed, and the remaining fixtures were played at a different intensity. Managers who had written off Wenger's project began to talk about Arsenal as the team to beat, which was exactly the momentum Wenger wanted.

The Back Four's Last Great Season

Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn and Martin Keown had been through everything together, and 1997/98 was their final great campaign as a unit. Between them they had survived the failed title pushes of the late eighties and early nineties, and under Wenger they were reborn — leaner, fitter and smarter in their positioning. Steve Bould, still a reliable deputy at 35, stepped in whenever one of the regulars rested.

The numbers tell the story: Arsenal conceded only 33 goals in 38 league games. Adams, the captain, was the leader Wenger later called the most intelligent defender he ever coached, and his reading of the game covered for the pace that age had taken. This was the last season the famous back four played together regularly, which makes the 1997/98 squad page a piece of history in its own right.

Bergkamp's Golden Season

Dennis Bergkamp was the best player in England in 1997/98, and the awards — PFA Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Player of the Year — merely confirmed what every defender already knew. His hat-trick at Leicester in August 1997, capped by that impossible touch to control a long pass before finishing, is still replayed as one of the most skilful goals in Premier League history.

Bergkamp scored 16 league goals and created at least as many, dropping between the lines to link midfield and attack. Wenger built the team around his movement, and Overmars and Anelka both benefited from the space he created. In the 38-0 dataset he is rated 89 OVR, the highest rating in this squad and one of the highest for any creative forward in the pool.

Key Players & Ratings

Dennis Bergkamp (89 OVR) is the crown jewel — a playmaker who scores, with the vision to run games from the number 10 position. Marc Overmars (86) provides the pace on the left wing that won the title at Old Trafford, David Seaman (86) is a top-tier goalkeeper, and Tony Adams (85) anchors the defence. Patrick Vieira (85) and Emmanuel Petit (84) form one of the great midfield pairings of the nineties, all power and timing.

The squad averages 81.6 OVR, comfortably above the 44-squad pool average of 80.7. The depth is genuinely unusual for a classic-era side: Martin Keown (82), Ray Parlour (81), Lee Dixon (81) and Ian Wright (84) are all useful picks, which means almost every position in this 18-man list is a safe landing spot.

Full 18-Man Squad

Best XI — Arsenal 1997/98

The highest-rated eleven available from this squad in 38-0:

• GK David Seaman 86 OVR
• RB Lee Dixon 81 OVR
• RCB Tony Adams 85 OVR
• CB Martin Keown 82 OVR
• CDM Emmanuel Petit 84 OVR
• RM Ray Parlour 81 OVR
• CM Patrick Vieira 85 OVR
• LW Marc Overmars 86 OVR
• ST Ian Wright 84 OVR
• ST Nicolas Anelka 82 OVR
• CF Dennis Bergkamp 89 OVR

Drafting This Squad in 38-0

Because the squad is strong from front to back, the draft decision here is about need rather than rescue. Bergkamp is the headline pick if your XI lacks a creator, Seaman solves the goalkeeper position for a decade, and Adams or Vieira strengthen the spine. Even a mid-tier option like Parlour or Dixon is a solid rotation player rather than a weak link.

In Legend mode, remember two things about this squad: the gap between the top names and the tail is small, so any pick is defensible, but the genuinely elite options are Bergkamp, Seaman and Overmars. If you land here and your team already has a creator, take Seaman — elite goalkeepers win perfect-season attempts.

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