Arsene Wenger had done a brilliant job so far at Arsenal and masterminded their title winning success during the 1997-1998 campaign. Arsenal lost few players at the start of the 1998- 1999 season with the departure of David Platt and Ian Wright. The Gunners lost out on the league title as Manchester United proved to be to strong to contain for the Gunners as United won the league. Arsenal also faced Man United in the semi finals of the FA cup, losing the encounter to an incredible goal scored by Ryan Giggs. Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit were in exhilarating form and Dennis Bergkamp arguably scored the goal of the season during the 1998-99 campaign.
The 1999 – 2000 season once again saw Arsenal falling short to Manchester United in the league. They finished the season off in second place, their fault being losing nine league matches. Ray Parlour and Nicolas Anelka were all in fine form during the campaign however even they could not inspire Arsenal in the domestic cup competitions, being knocked out against Leicester City in fourth round of the FA Cup.
Once again, Arsenal finished runners up to Manchester United during the 2000-2001 season, however coming on the back of winning Euro 2000 with France; Thierry Henry found renewed confidence in his performances and was outstanding throughout the season for the Gunners. Arsenal reached the final of the FA Cup, meeting Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium. They surrendered a one goal lead and lost the match 2-1.
Sol Campbell signed for Arsenal at the start of the 2001- 02 season, to much of the annoyance of rival fans, Tottenham Hotspur. The gunners were outstanding in the league and embarked on a fantastic second half of the season as many players stood up to be counted, including, Patrick Viera, Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and Tony Adams. The Gunners even achieved winning the ‘double’ by the end of the season as they defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final, winning the match 2-0 at the Millennium Stadium.