Why Mikel Arteta's Arsenal can take UEFA Champions League inspiration from Arsene Wenger's 2006 run - how stats compare
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Published 12/03/2025 at 11:43 GMT
Arsenal play the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie against PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates with a healthy 7-1 lead from the first leg and looking well-placed for a quarter-final spot. With Mikel Arteta's team aiming to win the competition for the first time, a look back at the Arsenal side that previously came so close in 2006 could be a source of inspiration.
Saliba: We all believe that we can win Champions League
Video credit: SNTV
The old cliché that ‘defence wins titles’ is one that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta certainly seems to have adopted, with the Gunners looking far more secure at the back than in years gone by.
Despite a fading Premier League challenge, Arsenal currently still have the best defence in the league, having just conceded 24 times in 28 matches, following on from last season, where the 29 goals they let in over 38 games was also the fewest in the division.
In Europe, they have conceded just four times in nine matches ahead of the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie against PSV, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Wednesday, March 12.
With Arteta looking to make history and lead Arsenal to their first Champions League triumph, it’s clear that he knows being assured at the back is key to any success the club may be chasing this year and beyond.
The closest Arsenal have come to lifting Europe’s biggest prize came back in 2006 when, despite the obvious attacking talent of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires et al, it could be easily argued that it was their defence that carried them to the final in Paris, where they fell at the hands of Barcelona.
What made that run all the more remarkable was the fact that Arsene Wenger was rarely working with his first-choice backline and often had players out of position as the club progressed through the tournament, something Arteta has also had to deal with this season.
So what can the current Arsenal boss learn from Wenger's 2006 side when it comes to putting together a challenge for the Champions League trophy?
Heroics to heartbreak for Lehmann
Arsenal's start to the 2005/06 European campaign could have done without the headache of having goalkeeper Jens Lehmann suspended for the first two group-stage matches for throwing water over an official after defeat to Bayern Munich in the competition the previous season.
Wenger was forced to call on Manuel Almunia for the 2-1 wins over Thun and Ajax, before Lehmann returned for the 2-0 victory in Prague.
A back injury kept Lehmann out of the return match with the Czech side and the away win at Thun, while he was then rested for the dead rubber in Amsterdam.
Lehmann was back for the knockout rounds in the new year, keeping a clean sheet in the Gunners' famous 1-0 win at Real Madrid, and then making a huge save to preserve a 0-0 draw in the second leg at Highbury.
Two more clean sheets followed against Juventus in the quarter-finals before another shutout in the 1-0 semi-final first-leg win over Villarreal.
In the return match in Spain, Lehmann famously saved a penalty from Juan Roman Riquelme in the dying minutes to seal Arsenal’s place in the final.
Unfortunately for Lehmann, he would go from hero to villain as he was sent off just 18 minutes into the final in Paris for a foul on Samuel Eto’o.
Almunia replaced Lehmann and Arsenal held out until the final 15 minutes, when they conceded twice to lose in heartbreaking fashion.
Arsenal goalkeepers in 2005/06 Champions League
| Jens Lehmann | Manuel Almunia | |
| Games played | 8* | 6* |
| Goals conceded | 0 | 4 |
| Clean sheets | 7 | 3 |
*Including final
Lehmann didn’t concede a goal throughout the 2005/06 Champions League run, setting a record for eight clean sheets in a row in the process (including one from the 2004/05 campaign), and was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year.
For Arteta’s side, David Raya has a big penalty save to his name this season, denying Atalanta's Mateo Retegui in their opening league-phase game to preserve a 0-0 draw, before two more clean sheets against Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk.
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'One of the best saves I've ever seen' - Raya pulls off astonishing double penalty stop
Video credit: TNT Sports
He was finally breached in a 1-0 defeat to Inter, courtesy of Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty, and conceded his only open-play goal so far in the competition in the Gunners’ 5-1 win over Sporting.
After back-to-back 3-0 wins over Monaco and Dinamo Zagreb, Raya was rested for the final league phase match in Girona, where back-up stopper Neto conceded in a 2-1 win.
Raya returned for the round of 16 where another penalty was needed to get the better of him. Noa Lang scored from the spot for PSV as Arsenal ran riot at the other end.
Arsenal goalkeepers in 2024/25 Champions League
| David Raya | Neto | |
| Games played | 8 | 1 |
| Goals conceded | 3 | 1 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 0 |
Raya has not quite matched the record of Lehmann but has impressed so far nevertheless, and will hope to continue his and Arsenal's good form as this season's tournament progresses.
Wenger rewarded for mixing and matching
Wenger began the 2005/06 season with his ‘Invincibles’ back four of Lauren, Kolo Toure, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole against Thun and Ajax.
Cole, however, who would leave the club the following summer, suffered a broken foot which ruled him out for the majority of the campaign, leaving Wenger to deploy Gael Clichy at left-back for the trip to Prague, where Pascal Cygan also had to come in for an injured Campbell.
Campbell was back for the return match with Clichy still deputising for Cole, but the Frenchman would suffer a foot injury meaning Cygan would play at left-back for the return match against Thun, with Philippe Senderos filling in for Toure and Emmanuel Eboue on the right in the absence of Lauren.
The Cameroonian was starting to pick up his own frequent injuries, and although he started at left-back in the Ajax return match, he was subbed off early for youngster Kerrea Gilbert. Toure would return in place of Campbell.
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Arteta demands Arsenal show no complacency in ‘important’ game against PSV
Video credit: TNT Sports
By the time the last 16 rolled around, Wenger had resorted to playing midfield utility man Mathieu Flamini at left-back, Eboue on the right, and with Campbell taking a leave of absence, Senderos was now permanently stationed alongside Toure in the middle.
This back four would remain for both legs against Madrid and Juve, as well as the first leg of the home victory over Villarreal – with Toure even scoring the decisive winner – without conceding a single goal.
Campbell would return in place of Senderos for the return match against Villarreal and an early injury to Flamini saw Clichy on as a substitute, but the full-back would be at fault for the dramatic late penalty which Lehmann saved.
That 0-0 draw meant the patched-up, makeshift Arsenal defence had kept 10 clean sheets in a row in the competition - a record that is yet to be broken.
Cole and Campbell were selected for the final in place of Philippe Senderos and Flamini, and despite Campbell opening the scoring, the pair couldn’t prevent the Gunners going down 2-1.
| Player | Apps (Mins) | Clean Sheets | Goals Conceded |
| Kolo Toure | 12 (1080) | 9 | 4 |
| Mathieu Flamini | 12 (925) | 9 | 3 |
| Emmanuel Eboue | 11 (834) | 8 | 2 |
| Philippe Senderos | 7 (630) | 7 | 0 |
| Sol Campbell | 6 (540) | 3 | 4 |
| Lauren | 6 (456) | 2 | 2 |
| Gael Clichy | 4 (263) | 2 | 0 |
| Ashley Cole | 3 (270) | 0 | 4 |
| Pascal Cygan | 3 (158) | 1 | 0 |
Amid the constant changing faces in the back line, the near-ever present Toure provided much-needed stability, while Flamini's conversion to a makeshift full-back paid dividends for Wenger.
The Frenchman's trust in youth also paid off with Senderos and Eboue (both 21) grabbing the opportunities presented to them and impressing, particularly during the latter stages of the run.
Despite the experience of Campbell and Cole, it should be noted that the absence of Flamini and Senderos, as well as Lehmann's dismissal, did ultimately see Arsenal finally concede in the final.
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Sol Campbell opened the scoring against Barcelona in Paris
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This season, Arteta began at Atalanta with a back four of Ben White on the right, Gabriel and William Saliba as the central pair, and Jurrien Timber on the left. However, he has only been able to start that combination once more in the competition to date, against Inter.
A long-term injury to White has largely meant Timber has been on the right, although Thomas Partey has also played there, having been moved from midfield.
An injury-hit start for Riccardo Calafiori has seen the Italian play a few matches on the left, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and the talented youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly have also filled in.
Jakub Kiwior has deputised at centre-back on occasion.
Arteta has also not been afraid to make changes during matches, meaning players, even the non-starters, are getting valuable minutes on the pitch, something that could prove crucial come the latter stages.
| Player | Apps (Mins) | Clean Sheets | Goals Conceded |
| Gabriel Magalhaes | 8 (714) | 4 | 4 |
| Jurrien Timber | 8 (497) | 0 | 3 |
| Saliba, William | 7 (630) | 4 | 3 |
| Riccardo Calafiori | 6 (382) | 1 | 3 |
| Jakub Kiwior | 5 (321) | 2 | 1 |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly | 5 (138) | 0 | 0 |
| Ben White | 4 (238) | 1 | 1 |
| Oleksander Zinchenko | 4 (113) | 0 | 0 |
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Highlights: Arsenal complete astonishing first-leg rout against PSV
Video credit: TNT Sports
Arsenal defences in the UEFA Champions League compared
| 2005/2006 | 2024/2025 | |
| Games Played | 13 | 9 |
| Shots Faced (per game) | 163 (12.5) | 84 (9.3) |
| Shots on Target Faced (per game) | 47 (3.6) | 21 (2.3) |
| Goals Conceded | 4 (0.3) | 4 (0.4) |
| Clean Sheets | 10 | 5 |
| Clean Sheet % | 77% | 56% |
The change of format in the UEFA Champions League and extra league-phase matches means that if Arsenal were to reach the final again this year, they would have to play more games than the 2006 team across the competition.
Collectively, Arteta's team, despite already having conceded the same number of goals as the 2006 team, are allowing opposition teams far fewer shots on average, which is an encouraging sign should they continue to progress.
However, the key stat related to clean sheets sees the current team still behind Wenger's charges.
While the record for consecutive shutouts set by that side cannot be broken this season, if modern-day Arsenal were to have any chance of matching that total at least, it would mean reaching and potentially winning the semi-finals without conceding a goal from this point.
Not that they need any more motivation to do so, but lessons from the past could provide quite the inspiration for Arteta and his team.
How to watch Arsenal v PSV
Arsenal welcome PSV to the Emirates on Wednesday, March 12.
Kick-off is at 20:00 UK time, with live coverage on TNT Sports 2 commencing at 19:00.
The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports and entertainment in one destination.
You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
Stream the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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