It is considered one of the outstanding achievements of the Premier League era. Yet, when it comes to the prospect of going an entire season unbeaten, Roy Keane and Kenny Dalglish appeared typically blasé.
Sitting in the company of Thierry Henry, these three very different characters were discussing their memories of the Premier League's 25 years.
With a general air of composure and quiet fondness, Henry recalled some of the logic behind Arsenal's "invincible" season of 2003-04. Giving Arsene Wenger the lion's share of the credit, Henry described the mindset that developed amongst the players:
You grow in confidence, you believe that you can do it, you take one game at a time, and then obviously we all know you clinch the title and then, the last thing, was very difficult to stay focused, to stay unbeaten when you've already won the title.
Henry suggested that maintaining the unbeaten run after the title had been clinched was the most difficult aspect of the entire run.
However, any potential bonhomie between the trio as they covered this achievement was quickly subdued.
With Keane suggesting that 'it would never bother me about being unbeaten, you just want to win the league', Dalglish, who won the English top flight ten times as both a player and manager, concedes it was an 'unbelievable achievement', but,
He would have been of the mindset that we've got our medal, if we go undefeated it's fine, a bonus, but it's not necessary. It's not going to undermine what you did for the rest of the season [if you lose].
Discussing his own time as a Liverpool player who regularly won league titles with a few games to spare, Dalglish recalls subsequently losing games but being largely unaffected by it; 'we'd won the league'.
Given Keane's involvement with Arsenal's direct rival Manchester United, his antipathy toward the achievement was somewhat more pronounced. When asked if United's players got any 'extra satisfaction' after ending the unbeaten run in October 2004, Keane didn't necessarily believe so:
I don't think so, but maybe there was with one or two other players because again, there was a lot of media spin involved ... If it's going to come to an end then it may as well be at United. But you don't get any extra points for it, it just shuts the media side of it up.
Ultimately, Keane believes 'United were a bigger club then that', not worried about other team's runs. Although Dalglish admits he would have been happy enough to do it himself as a player, Keane feels,
It wouldn't have worried me too much, honestly, my priority at the start of every season, 'Can I win the league?' If someone says, 'Well this how your going to win', I don't care. If I win it with 3 games to go, if it's the last kick of the game, I don't care, give me that medal.
It might be well over ten years since Keane played against Arsenal for Manchester United, but some habits die harder than others it seems.
See Also: Watch: Roy Keane Reveals His Dislike Of Chelsea With Roguish Smile
