1998–99 Arsenal F.C. season
113th season in existence of Arsenal F.C. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1998–99 season was Arsenal Football Club's seventh season in the Premier League and their 73rd consecutive season in the top flight of English football.[2][3] The club, managed by Arsène Wenger, entered the campaign as Premier League and FA Cup double winners. They ended this campaign as league runners-up, a point behind Manchester United, who secured the title on the final day of the season. United also eliminated Arsenal in a FA Cup semi-final replay; Ryan Giggs scored an extra time winner in the 109th minute. Arsenal competed in Europe's premier club competition – the UEFA Champions League – for the first time since its rebrand in 1992, but failed to progress past the group stage.
1998–99 season | ||||
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Chairman | Peter Hill-Wood | |||
Manager | Arsène Wenger | |||
Stadium | Highbury( Home domestic matches) Wembley Stadium ( Home UEFA Champions League matches only) | |||
Premier League | 2nd | |||
FA Cup | Semi-finals | |||
League Cup | Fourth round | |||
Charity Shield | Winners | |||
UEFA Champions League | Group stage | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Nicolas Anelka (17) All: Nicolas Anelka (19) | |||
Highest home attendance | 73,707 vs Lens (25 November 1998) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 37,161 vs Sheffield United (23 February 1999) | |||
Average home league attendance | 38,022[1] | |||
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In the transfer window, Arsenal purchased several players, including Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and Argentine Nelson Vivas. Ian Wright – the club's all-time top goalscorer, left in the summer to play for West Ham United. Striker Nwankwo Kanu joined Arsenal in January 1999.
Arsenal made an indifferent start to their league campaign with four consecutive draws from their first five matches. After defeat to Aston Villa in December 1998, the team embarked on a 19 match unbeaten run to steadily climb up the league table. A 6–1 win against Middlesbrough in April 1999 moved Arsenal to the top of the table for the first time in the season and victory against Tottenham Hotspur put the team three points clear as main challenger United drew with Liverpool. Both Arsenal and Manchester United went into the final two games of the league season on the same number of points, but the former's defeat to Leeds United all but ended their chances of retaining the title.
30 different players represented Arsenal in five competitions and there were 14 different goalscorers. Arsenal's top goalscorer was Nicolas Anelka, who scored 19 goals in 45 appearances.