Arsene Wenger Says Arsenal Attacking Options Are Better Than 'The Invincibles'

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his current attacking unit is the best he has had, eclipsing even the storied group who were part of the Frenchman's unbeaten Invincibles side in 2003-04. 

Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick and Danny Welbeck netted twice as Arsenal thumped Southampton 5-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, with Lucas Perez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain acting as creators. Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi were not even in the starting XI.

And Wenger claimed ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Watford on Tuesday that his current crop betters the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sylvain Wiltord, Kanu and Jose Reyes, per the Mirror's Adrian Kajumba:

"

I think certainly numbers wise and quality wise, this is the best attacking unit. We had never so many players who could perform and score goals—certainly never.

Bergkamp, Henry... and [Robin] Van Persie [came] behind them. Wiltord, Pires, it was not bad. They had the quality, but [we have] the large number [now].

"

Statistics support Wenger's claim to a point.

After 22 matches of the 2016-17 Premier League season, Arsenal have netted 50 goals, the second-most in the division behind Liverpool.

At the same stage in the Gunners' 2003-04 campaign, they had netted just 42 times, although after 22 matches in the 2004-05 season—with much the same squad—Arsenal had scored 52 goals, per the Premier League.

Player	Appearances (as a sub)	Minutes	Goals	Assists
Alexis Sanchez	21(1)	1876	15	7
Theo Walcott	16	1347	8	2
Olivier Giroud	5(10)	587	7	3
Mesut Ozil	18(1)	1596	5	4
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	8(10)	811	2	4
Alex Iwobi	14(4)	1043	2	3

Arsenal's current attacking unit is unquestionably strong, although Sanchez is perhaps the only player who could conceivably leave a legacy in north London to match that of Henry and Bergkamp.

What was remarkable about Wenger's Invincibles was their consistency, a trait which most of Arsenal's current attacking unit don't hold.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Walcott can be brilliant but is streaky, Perez and Iwobi are, as yet, unproven, Ozil is not a prolific goalscorer and can go missing in big games, and Oxlade-Chamberlain and Welbeck have been troubled consistently by injury.

As for Giroud, his return of seven goals in 587 minutes of Premier League action in 2016-17 is excellent, but he has never previously managed to score more than 16 times in an English top-flight season, hardly the record of a world-class player, per WhoScored.com.

Arsenal are second in the Premier League, eight points behind leaders Chelsea. Should their attacking players continue to excel and stay fit there is a chance the Gunners could catch Antonio Conte's Blues and win the title, but it seems unlikely.

Despite the depth and quality Wenger has in his forward ranks, until they return some top-level silverware they will pale in comparison to the Invincibles.