Arsenal Became A Precious Club Side In 2003 - Gary Neville

Gary Neville has told FourFourTwo he believes the Arsenal of now are a world apart from the strong and fearsome outfit that predated the Invincibles.

The former Manchester United captain, currently part of Roy Hodgson's England coaching team, says the north Londoners became "precious" in their unbeaten season of 2003/04.

Neville faced the Gunners numerous times over his 400 appearances for the Old Trafford side and, speaking exclusively in the September 2015 issue of FourFourTwo in shops from Saturday, has spoken out against his old rivals' mutation.


“I remember when Martin Keown, Tony Adams or Steve Bould would give our forwards a real whack. In a game between Arsenal and Manchester United, you'd expect both sets of defenders to be aggressive.
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In 2003 they became a little more precious – they thought nobody could touch them

“Between 1996 and 2001 they were the best encounters because there were no holds barred – everyone was battling and nobody was whinging.

“Then Arsenal changed. In 2003 they became a little more precious – they thought nobody could touch them. They didn't have players who could stand up for them as much and that's what we still see today.”