Champions, Once Beaten

Beaten only once

Arsenal's 1990/91 championship was built on a foundation of almost impregnable defence. Across the entire Division One season the club lost just one league match, the meanness of George Graham's back four becoming the defining feature of the campaign. David Seaman, signed that summer, kept goal behind Tony Adams and his fellow defenders, and the goals against column stayed reassuringly low week after week. Where the Anfield title had been won on the final night, this one was a steady accumulation, a side that simply refused to be beaten and ground out the points that mattered.

Two points docked, title kept

The season was not without controversy. After a confrontation at Old Trafford, the Football Association deducted Arsenal two points, a punishment that in a tighter campaign could have cost them everything. Instead, the margin Graham's side built was wide enough to absorb the blow. They finished clear at the top, champions for the second time in three seasons, and confirmed the early 1990s as a period of genuine dominance for the club. It was Graham's second league title as Arsenal manager and the platform for the European success that would soon follow.

Timeline

• 1990David Seaman signs to keep goal for the campaign
• 1991Arsenal lose only one league game all season
• 1991Football Association deducts Arsenal two points
• 1991Arsenal crowned champions for the second time in three seasons

Connected pages

• 1990/91
• David Seaman