Why has no team broken this Arsenal's record in the Champions League after 14 years?

The Gunners had their most memorable run in the UEFA Champions League in 2006; reaching the final and loosing it while playing one of the most breath taking football in the competition.


By all standards, Arsene Wenger's men were far from making a huge impact in the competition by the bookies. Even their reliance on a peak Thiery Henry wasn't enough to push them forward as favorites.

Somehow, they managed to shock everyone reaching Paris in the most devastating manner. Victories against heavy favorites Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and Juventus in Turin announced how well drilled these lads from London were.





Perhaps, their most dramatic game was in the semi-final against Villarreal, another team having a fairytale run.

Manuel Pellegrini's men narrowly lost to a Kolo Toure's goal at Highbury and were just two minutes away from levelling it up at the El Madrigal.

Gael Clichy fouled Jose Mari inside the box. With Juan Riquelme a near certainty to slam the ball home from twelve yards out, Jens Lehman guessed correctly, dived to his left and palmed the ball to safety. Cue utter pandemonium! Arsenal were on their way to Paris. The Gunners’ 10th straight game without conceding a goal smashed Ajax’s record of consecutive clean sheets in any European competition and finally silenced the critics who claimed Arsène Wenger’s men would never crack.




The Gunners conceded two goals in group stages to Thun and Ajax before going another 955 minutes shut out, a record no team has managed to break after 14 years.

That run eventually came to an end against Barcelona on a rainy Wednesday night at the Parc Des Princess.

Rarely has an Arsenal side produced such a show of passion, desire, grit and determination. But on this occasion it was a case of so near yet so far. As the Catalonians celebrated long into the rainy Parisian night – late strikes from Eto’o and Belletti overturning Sol Campbell’s towering opener – Arsenal’s dreams were left in tatters.




That, obviously was an experience many Arsenal fans enjoyed while it lasted. The reality, however, is that's also the closest they have ever been to celebrating their maiden elite European title.