Arsenal Invincibles ‘second to none’ for physicality in Lehmann Man City verdict

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The physicality of Arsenal’s Invincibles will never be matched according to Jens Lehmann, who believes that his side provided a role model for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

The former Germany stopper joined the Gunners after winning both Serie A and the Bundesliga, and proved to be a reliable pick for Arsene Wenger for the next four seasons.

As well as their unbeaten Premier League campaign, which is yet to be repeated, Arsenal won the FA Cup in that period while reaching the final of the Champions League.

Lehmann has now insisted that although he and his former colleagues have not discussed how they might have got on against Guardiola’s winning machine, they might have played a part in their foundation.

“We never discuss if we would beat them or not, but at the time one of our biggest advantages was our physicality,” Lehmann told Daily Star Sport ahead of Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund on BT Sport this Saturday.

“At the same time, we played some of the most fluent and nice to watch football, because technically we were fantastic as well.

“Our physicality was second to none, and probably always will be because the new style is based on smaller players who are technically very gifted, but this power, physical power, you need it.

“That is one thing that is hard to find in modern football.

“If we were playing now, I think we would have played a similar style because our style was a role model for so many other cultures like Pep Guardiola, who said that once when he was coaching Barcelona.

“Competing with us was not only on a technical level – it was to compete with our physicality.”

Arsenal went unbeaten across 38 matches with 26 victories while City have won 20 of their 27 games so far this season following a run of 15 matches without mistake.

In a nod to Arsenal’s record breaking side, Guardiola praised the vision of Wenger when the Frenchman left Arsenal following 22 years at the helm from 1996.

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    • He said in 2018: "All my respect for what he has done. The Premier League is about huge personalities like Arsene. It is because of what he has done – his vision, his respect for football.

    "I wish him all the best in the future. I hope he can be involved in world football in a different way with his experience – Arsenal, Uefa, Fifa… I don't know.

    "It was a pleasure to compete against him here and at Barcelona and Bayern Munich."

    Watch multiple live matches from the Bundesliga every week exclusively live on BT Sport, including Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund on BT Sport 2 on Saturday 6 March from 5.15pm

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    • Arsenal FC
    • Premier League
    • Manchester City FC
    • Arsene Wenger
    • Pep Guardiola

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