From the season’s start, the Invincibles 20th anniversary has been looming on the mind of Arsenal; a significant milestone that lies in the shadows of a club vying for their own chapter of glory.

It was 20 years ago on Wednesday since Arsene Wenger lifted the Premier League title at Highbury in front of a sea red after beating Leicester 2-1.

That record-breaking campaign, in which Arsenal went unbeaten across the 38 games, had previously seemed a fanciful notion. So much so, it has yet to be matched by their peers, including in the reigns of Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola.

It is why under the Mikel Arteta revamp which sees Arsenal go into the final weekend vying for the title — a scenario not felt in decades — both he and the club hierarchy still remember and respect the men from yesteryear.

The parallels still shine strong. If Arsenal win against Everton this Sunday, the Gunners will finish on 89 points — their highest total since the 90 points accrued in 2004.

20 years ago on Wednesday Arsenal lifted the Premier League trophy at the tail end of a staggering season

Rewinding back the clock, former centre back Martin Keown expectedly has fond memories. Keown was 37 and in his final season at the Gunners. A third career league title was etched in his focus.

‘Each season, when the elite Premier League teams fall short of going unbeaten for a whole season, we call it in our household, “Invincibles day”,’ says Keown.

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‘I’m immensely proud to be involved with that group of players, though on the pitch I only managed 10 appearances. But looking back, I was approaching 38.

‘The boss created a unique spirit and environment for us to all thrive in. It’s something we will always be proud of.’

For Jens Lehmann, who Mail Sport recently revealed had paid up to £30,000 for the Invincibles branding rights, the ex-goalkeeeper made 28 league appearances after being usurped by Manuel Almunia for a short period.

‘I'm German: it's always difficult to say I'm “proud” of something because I've been brought up after the Second World War and the word “proud” was not really something we could use,’ says Lehmann. ‘So I'm happy about it.

‘I came in at a right age. I saw fantastic talents like Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski or Emi Martinez. In Lucas and Wojciech, they were too young to handle the pressure and to make decisions, because when you come in as a goalkeeper, your job is to organise, and obviously be there when you need it.

‘But when you're too young, you look at yourself more than your team-mates, and the opposition. And that's what the experience brings to the table. I could do that I because I was at the right age.’

Ceremonial events have been common at the north London club of late.

The 23rd anniversary of legend David Rocastle, who died of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, was marked, as per annually, on April 3 with his family on the pitch presenting Declan Rice with Arsenal’s February goal of the month ahead of their 2-0 victory over Luton.

Jose Antonio Reyes’s death meant when the Gunners travelled to Seville in October for their Champions League group game against Sevilla, Arteta laid a bouquet of flowers in front of a memorial dedicated to the winger at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. Reyes had a distinguished career for both clubs.

And then Arsene Wenger attended the unveiling of his own statue outside the Emirates on August 3.

So, now, it was the turn of the Invincibles. A variety of plans were initially scattered out, a match involving the 2004 squad and staff still hoping to be arranged.

The club are holding a two-day celebration. The Invincibles squad will be in attendance this Sunday at the Emirates for Arsenal’s final game of the season against Everton, with the possibility of a pitch procession during the day. A celebratory lunch will also be held on the Saturday.

The group are still looking at doing a documentary this summer to reflect on their incredible achievement, a journey that had begun years earlier than 2004.

The 2001-02 season saw Arsenal win the league and stay unbeaten away from home — a feat only Preston had done previously. That laid down the gauntlet.

‘The manager was like, “If we can manage not to lose away from home, we can surely do this for a whole season”,’ explains Keown.

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‘At the start of every campaign we would have a meeting to discuss our season goals.

‘In 2003 we agreed we could go a season unbeaten, and the boss went public with it. But in 2004 it wasn’t said out loud, but it was in the back of our minds. I think by saying it is sharing it. It became one of our targets.’

But the real starting point was the 1997-98 season. Wenger, having taken over in September 1996, was approaching his first full campaign in charge.

His revolutionary approach, which included the use of supplements and a slow-sugar diet, had begun to take hold.

‘The 1997-98 that team were pioneers for what was to come because it was a transformational season in the way that we played, the way we were branded,’ he continues.

‘That was laid out for each team. The boss had to rebuild, he lost his vital players like Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Nicolas Anelka, and then lots of money building a stadia.

‘The team was still really competitive, but they'd already committed to the project of a new stadium.’

Today Arteta is in the realm of creating his own Arsenal legacy.

After falling away in the previous campaign, the north London club go into Sunday ready to seize the title — if Man City slip up. Though this campaign has already been historic, regardless.

Arsenal’s 27 wins is the most in the club’s Premier League history. The previous best? 26 wins, by the Invincibles.

‘That’s not progress, that’s history,’ said Arteta, after last week’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United. ‘And that’s very, very difficult to do, especially in the league we are playing in now.’

The Gunners are also unbeaten against the Big Six, and have earned more points than seven of Ferguson’s 13 title-winning United teams. Quite remarkable.

Lehmann says: ‘The Invincibles achievement gets bigger and bigger the more years that go by without somebody winning it unbeaten. But obviously, I wish for the current team to become champions this year, because that will be great for the club and I think that would be great for the club.’

Until then, the question remains: when could the next Invincibles team emerge once again?

‘Such as the perfection being achieved by the elite teams, I feel that the Invincibles achievement could be in real danger,’ explains Keown. ‘Particularly, if teams hone in on it as a target.

‘The difficulty is it’s never the priority to go unbeaten in a season. The priority is winning trophies, which means potentially resting players to prioritise certain competitions.

‘I mean, last season City lost twice to Brentford.’

Lehmann adds: ‘There are good teams so why can’t (Invincibles happen again)?

‘Over recent seasons Man City and Liverpool came close. Arsenal I think in the next few years we'll come close again. Because if you consider the situation of Liverpool, and at Man City, I think they will face some difficulties and the set-up at Arsenal is good.

‘So you never know, they can achieve it again. Well, they can stay unbeaten — if they win something that's a different subject!’