INVINCIBLES?-ARSENAL AND/OR PRESTON

Arsenal's Premier League winning team in 2003-4 was undefeated and crowned "The Invincibles" however, Wenger's side lost their opening game of the season, The Community Shield, to Manchester United on penalties and were beaten in the FA Cup by the same opposition and beaten in the League Cup by Middlesbrough. 

In the Champions' League they lost to Dynamo Kiev and Chelsea....so hardly invincible! Preston's side of 1888-89, however, were the real deal. The season before, manager William Sudell's team had won 42 consecutive matches, only to lose at the last match of the season to West Bromwich Albion, in the FA Cup Final. On the way they had beaten Hyde in the FA Cup 26-0, an English record. So confident was the club that they would win the Final, they had a photograph taken prior to the match. The referee, Major Francis Marindin, President of the FA, suggested they that should win the match first! West Bromwich Albion won the game 2-1 with George Woodhall's goal scored 13 minutes from full time. Tough luck Preston.

The following year, Preston's confidence was less misplaced when they romped the nascent Football League, finishing 11 points ahead of Aston Villa, winning 18 of the matches, drawing 4 and scoring 74 goals. Preston's league campaign only involved 22 matches, whereas Arsenal played 38! The Gunners were also playing in four competitions, not two. However, Preston won the Double, beating Wolves 3-0 in thre FA Cup Final, having not conceded a goal in their "run" to the Final. Only Preston North End can call themselves "Invincible".

The 1888–89 Football League was the first edition of the Football League, which ran from the autumn of 1888 until the spring of 1889. Created and named in Manchester during a meeting on 17 April 1888, the Football League is the oldest professional association football league competition in the world.

The season began on 8 September 1888 with 12 member clubs from the Midlands and North of England: Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County,  Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Each club played the other twice, once at home and once away. The season concluded on 20th April 1889, with Preston crowned as the first league champions; they were also never defeated throughout the season, a very rare achievement that has only been replicated in England once since then, when Arsenal won the Premier league in the 2003-4 season.

The original league rules stated that teams' positions should be calculated "from wins, draws, and losses", without further detail. It was not until late November that a points system was decided upon, with teams being awarded two points for a win and one point for a draw. Goal average was used to separate teams level on points!

Season	1888–89
Champions	Preston NE The first English Title
Matchesplayed	132
Goals scored	586 (4.44 per match)
Top goalscorer	John Goodall (21 goals)
Biggest home win	Aston Villa 9–1 Notts County (29 September 1888)
Biggest away win	Notts Countu 0–7 Preston NE (3 November 1888)
Highest scoring	Blackburn Rovers 5–5 Accrington (15 September 1888) Aston Villa 9–1 Notts County (29 September 1888) Bolton W 7–3 Notts County (9 March 1889)
Longest winning run	6 matches Preston NE
Longest unbeaten run	22 matches Preston NE
Longest losing run	8 matches Derby County