Arsenal, Bayern, Celtic: What is the longest unbeaten run of the 21st century? | OneFootball

Arsenal going the entire 2003/04 Premier League season without losing a single game is rightfully heralded as one of football’s greatest feats.

While you might quickly point out that Preston North End have also gone an entire English top-flight season in the men’s game without defeat, the achievement of the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ comes with extra bells and whistles.

That’s because Arsene Wenger’s legendary accomplishment spanned beyond the boundaries of the season in which Arsenal won the league with their unbeaten run starting earlier and finishing later.

Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run

In the end, the Gunners’ run of games without a single Premier League defeat stretched to 49 with – as many an Arsenal fan will tell you – Manchester United eventually spoiling the party under controversial circumstances.

That, ladies and gentlemen, means that Arsenal are the proud owners of the longest unbeaten run that English football has ever seen in regards to the men’s game. Remarkable stuff.

However, while we don’t mean to downplay Arsenal’s achievement within the context of the sport in England, it’s important that we point out that their 49-game unbeaten run looks far more pedestrian globally.

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Longest unbeaten runs since 2000

In light of Al Sadd’s own recent run without defeat ending at 49 matches just like Arsenal of the early 2000s, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) decided to trawl through the record books.

The result? Well, they’ve drawn up the longest unbeaten streaks from national leagues across the world since the turn of the 21st century, leading to the remarkable result where Arsenal only actually place in 32nd.

So to find out which teams managed to maintain an unblemished record in the league for even longer than the ‘Invincibles’, be sure to check out every side to go at least 49 games unbeaten since 2000 down below:

49 games

Arsenal (England): 2003-2004

Juventus (Italy): 2011-2012

Nepal Police Club (Nepal): 2007-2011

50 games

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia): 2014-2015

APR (Rwanda): 2019-2022

51 games

Al-Merreikh (Sudan): 2008-2010

Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan): 2008-2010

Hekari United (Papua New Guinea): 2011-2015

Al-Ahly (Saudi Arabia): 2014-2016

Istiqlol (Tajikistan): 2013-2016

Mbabane Swallows (Eswatini): 2016-2018

PAOK (Greece): 2018-2020

Crvena Zvezda (Serbia): 2020-2021

52 games

Zamalek (Egypt): 2002-2004

Stade Malien (Mali): 2016-2021

53 games

Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan): 2007-2008

FC Porto (Portugal): 2012-2013

Bayern Munich (Germany): 2012-2014

54 games

Slavia Prague (Czech Republic): 2020-2021

55 games

FC Porto (Portugal): 2010-2012

Real Esteli (Nicaragua): 2016-2017

56 games

Celtic (Scotland): 2016-2017

57 games

Al-Hilal Omdurman (Sudan): 2011-2013

Crvena Zvezda (Serbia): 2017-2019

Primeiro Agosto (Angola): 2018-2019

58 games

Vita Club (Democratic Republic of the Congo): 2019-2022

FC Porto (Portugal): 2020-2022

59 games

Pyunik (Armenia): 2002-2004

60 games

Al-Hilal Omdurman (Sudan): 2016-2018

61 games

Levadia (Estonia): 2008-2009

63 games

Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova): 2006-2008

71 games

Al Ahly (Egypt): 2004-2007

88 games

Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar): 2009-2014

Astonishing records

Goodness gracious me. Just imagine going five years without a single league defeat – madness.

According to the BBC, Lincoln’s astonishing 1,959-day streak – completed during a period of winning the Gibraltar Premier Division 14 times in a row – is considered to be Europe’s longest chronological unbeaten league run.

However, even their head-spinning achievement still pales in comparison to the all-time European record with UEFA confirming Steaua Bucureşti went a barely-believable 104 league games without losing between 1986 and 1989.

Now, of course, the caveat to all these bonkers statistics is that the leagues tend not to be as competitive or elite as England’s top-flight, so they by no means make Arsenal’s achievement look paltry in every aspect.

Nevertheless, the likes of Sheriff Tiraspol, Al Ahly and Lincoln Red Imps can only beat who’s put in front of them and if you’re going almost 50 games or more without losing, then by goodness are you doing something right.