Jeremie, did Arsène Wenger say anything to you about your role for the 2003/04 season before it started? How much gametime were you expecting?

To be honest, I rarely spoke to Arsène on an individual basis. He’d always encourage me and told me that when I had a chance, I had to take it. In my mind, I knew I’d be required for the cup competitions – and I always went into those games knowing I had to make any chances I had count.

You had an excellent record in the League Cup especially, scoring four times.

Yeah, I scored a few goals – I’ve actually still got a trophy at home from when I was named Talent of the League Cup that season. I remember the Wolves game at Highbury – I scored two in that and had a really good evening.

Your first appearance of the season was the start at Liverpool in the Premier League in October. What are your memories of it?

Normally Arsène would run through team shape the day before a game. He’d call 11 players to come with him and talk over the tactics for the following game. For some reason, he didn’t do it before that game. He left it quite open so we were all guessing who was starting. I woke up in the morning, had breakfast and then went into the team meeting.

I still remember when he revealed the team and I saw my name. To be honest, it was quite good that I didn’t know the night before because I would have stressed about it. It was a big surprise for everybody.

At that time, we used to do a lot of finishing at the end of each session with Jens. We’d stick a ball outside the 18-yard box and try to curl it in. I was in really good form – I kept putting it in the top corner. Jens came over to me and told me I should be taking free-kicks. The next day, the team was announced and when Jens saw my name on it, he told me he was going to tell Thierry that I should be taking free kicks. I said: “You tell him, because I’m not!”

How did you feel when you found out you were in the team?

I was nervous straight away. I didn’t expect it because it was pretty much always Thierry and Dennis up top. If Dennis wasn’t involved, it would be Sylvain or Kanu. I knew I’d rarely start, which made it a big surprise – as did the fact it was at Liverpool.

I thought I’d maybe get a start in a home game against a team fighting to stay in the league. But playing at Anfield was massive then – as it is now. Maybe that’s why Arsène didn’t want to tell me the day before. He knew my character and he knew that I’d probably have thought about it all night. When I found out I was just so focused on working hard and scoring if I got a chance.

How did you feel after the game?

The experience was amazing, as was the result – winning 2-1 there meant a lot. But I was always quite tough on myself when I didn’t score goals or if I didn’t create chances. I was never really pleased with myself, so I wasn’t over the moon with it.

But it was my first Premier League start and we won the game. After the match I had my parents calling me – they were really, really happy. So I couldn’t really be the miserable one going: “Oh I didn’t score.” It’s a good memory to look back on.

Did that self-criticism come from the fact you were competing with the likes of Henry, Bergkamp, Kanu and Wiltord for a place?

Yeah, because you knew that if you were not the best you were not going to play. And even if you were at your best, always giving 100 per cent, scoring goals, you knew there was a good chance you wouldn’t start in front of Thierry and Dennis anyway.

Every time I was on the pitch I was just desperate to show Arsène I was good enough to play – and if not as a starter, then at least as a substitute. I was really single-minded – I just focused on pushing myself as hard as I could. Of course it was tough at points, but you just have to keep going in that situation.

Was that the case for the young players in the squad in general?

Yeah, it was. I was ‘The Young One’ at the time – Robert Pires even calls me that to this day! Gael Clichy and myself were coming through and we just had this mentality to push as hard as we could. We knew we were part of a world-class team.

Being a member of that squad was already an achievement – but it wasn’t enough for us. We wanted to play our part. Every day we just worked as hard as we could. And then when we got our chances, I wanted the fans to notice me coming up and to be excited. That was my mindset.

Did it help that Gael was in a similar position to you – a talented young player trying to break into a world-class team?

We helped each other – I arrived at Arsenal in 1999 so by the time the Invincible season came around I’d already been here for four years. I spoke English and I knew the club. Gael and I were close in age and had similar hobbies away from football. I tried to help him as much as I could.

I really got on with Sylvain Wiltord too. We had a nice friendship but we weren’t too close from an age perspective. Gael and I became best friends during my time with Arsenal – and we still talk on a regular basis.

Are you still in touch with many other members of the squad?

We’ve actually got two group chats. There’s one with loads of former Arsenal players and a separate one with just the Invincibles. We’re all still in touch and speak quite regularly – usually to wish each other happy birthday or to wish one another luck when people get managerial jobs.

It’s nice to keep in touch that way. It’s hard to meet up because everyone is doing different things and some of the team live abroad. We did manage to have a dinner in central London a while ago, which was really good.

When you think about the season from an individual perspective, was the Liverpool match your highlight?

Probably yeah, because it was my first start. Playing against Liverpool at Anfield just meant so much. But there were special Champions League games too – especially winning 5-1 at the San Siro against Inter. That one was just absolutely mad.

We’d been doing so well in the Premier League but we were struggling in Europe. We absolutely had to get a result in that match to progress from the group. To score five there was just incredible.

There are a few other memories that come to mind but, to be honest, one of my main ones was just the work we put in week in, week out. When we weren’t performing particularly well, we’d still find a way to grind out results – be that a tight 1-0, or coming from behind to draw 1-1. We just believed we wouldn’t be beaten.

A main memory from that season is the toughness of everyone involved, to just keep going and grinding out results even when our football wasn’t at its best.

You made 10 league appearances during the campaign. What does it mean to you to have played enough matches to receive a medal?

When I think about it now, it’s up there with the proudest I’ve ever felt. To have been part of that group, to be mentioned alongside some of those names is just immense. But you know, at the time, I didn’t really take it in. In truth, I wasn’t satisfied at playing 10 games – I wanted to play more than that. I wanted to score more goals,

I wanted to be involved more. I wasn’t just satisfied with the medal. As soon as the season came to an end, my mentality switched to coming back the next year and trying to play more games. I was never happy with what I’d achieved – I was always looking for more. But now, I look at it with distance and that’s really opened my mind up to the significance of what we did. It’s made me realise I was part of a team that achieved something that probably won’t be done again.

I look at all the great teams we’ve seen in the Premier League over the last two decades, but nobody else has gone unbeaten through an entire season. I mean, look at the table now – there are some really good teams but everyone has already lost at least once. I realise now how amazing the achievement is.

You didn’t feature when we won the league at Tottenham or in the final match against Leicester. Where did you watch the games?

I wasn’t actually at the stadium for the Tottenham match. I watched that one at home. But I was at Highbury for the Leicester game, as I was for every home game. When we played away, those not in the squad would train in the morning.

I remember watching the Tottenham game and, despite being disappointed not to be involved, I was just absolutely buzzing to see the boys win the league there. I was jumping around my living room! That’s what got us to that level – the players not involved on a matchday absolutely wanted the best for the squad. The solidarity we had as a group – the regular players, those who’d get on the bench, those who weren’t often in the squad – was what set us apart. We were just one unit.

That doesn’t mean we got on all the time. Occasionally there would be arguments on the training ground – but that’s part of football. At the heart of it all, we would have done anything for each other and anything to win. That’s why we achieved what we did. We had such a strong sense of solidarity. Even now, when we speak, you can still feel this special bond we’ve got. We’ll always have that too. That connection will be there forever.

To finish, Jeremie, do you have any memorabilia from that season? What did you do with the shirt from the Liverpool game?

I gave that shirt to my parents. But it’s funny – when you’re playing, you give your shirts away to people all the time. And then when you retire, you wonder where all your shirts are! I had to call my grandad to get
a couple from the Invincibles season. I had none of my own left.

I’ve managed to get a few back from my family. Those are framed now. I love having them as memories of a really special time in my life.