Book Review: The Immaculate Season

'The Immaculate Season' is a publication that illustrates, with the aid of well in excess of 150 colour photographs, just how it was that Arsenal went through their entire thirty-eight Premiership match campaign whilst at the same time managing to retain a big fat zero in their games lost column.

As you're all very well aware no club since Preston North End, some 115 years previously, had gone an entire English League season unbeaten. When Preston achieved this seemingly impossible task they were required to stretch to a mere 22 league matches, whereas Arsenal's season took in a seriously impressive 38 games all of which are amply illustrated in this charming little title. I should perhaps mention that this is not the full story of our 2003/4 campaign as this particular book is limited to just the, now historic, league matches. No doubt the full season's review will appear in due course but this publication restricts itself to the now classic P38 W26 D12 L0 storyline. Numbers that in time will no doubt form a notable segment of the Club's fabulous heritage.

The photos used are typical of the type you'd expect to see in Arsenal's match-day programmes showing players caught in action during the course of each match, some of which run to a full page. Stuart MacFarlane the official club photographer maintains his usual high standard in that respect. The text limits itself to the briefest possible outline of each game and the statistics shown are restricted to the list of the players appearing in both teams, date, substitutes, scorers and goal times. So if you're looking for the definitive description or analysis of the most memorable league season in Arsenal's illustrious history this title is probably not for you. If however you want a well illustrated record of the creation of an astounding piece of footballing history in a hard cover format for less than a tenner then look no further.

You should be able to order this title from any decent bookstore if you quote the following reference number ISBN 0 600 61272 4 – But no doubt the Club shop will also be stocking this title.