When Arsenal's Match Day Squad Went Global in February 2005

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports UK.

Football fans don't agree on much – we're far too partisan for that kind of thing. We think our club is in some way still connected to the local area, whereas every other side has sold its soul; our fans have the best songs, while other supporters are always stealing them; and when we win the league it's through some innate daring and intelligence, whereas everyone else just buys success.

But we can generally agree that overseas players are good for the Premier League. Even the actual racists – of which a few unfortunately remain – tend to be so obsessed with success that they will tolerate anyone at their club if it means a coveted trophy, or a successful battle against relegation. It's only when results fail to go their way that things can turn nasty.

But this isn't about xenophobic dickheads – they have been forever proved wrong by the likes of Cantona, Bergkamp and Drogba, players who have enriched our domestic game, giving fans incredible memories and helping to transform their clubs' performances on the pitch. I can think of plenty of players born overseas who fell in love with an English club in a far more meaningful way than those born on this island – Juninho over his three spells at Middlesbrough; Ardiles during a decade at Tottenham; and Agger at Liverpool, complete with his YNWA tattoo.

At the same time, it also seems reasonable to suggest that we can have too much of a good thing. For overseas players to be positive for the British game, we need at least some local talent alongside them. And not just in England – Lionel Messi doesn't just benefit Barcelona, he helps to enhance the young Spaniards emerging at the club. If there are no domestic players around, that benefit is lost.

It is a debate that has raged for as long as English football has imported players. 11 years ago this week, on 14 February 2005, it was thrust to the foreground after a Premier League match day squad was named without a single domestic player.

Cast your mind back to a time when a young Jose Mourinho, only the odd fleck of grey in his jet-black hair, was enjoying a stellar start to life at Chelsea. The Blues were top of the table by nine points, with Manchester United and Arsenal leading the chasing pack. At the other end West Bromwich Albion were bottom of the pile, but over the next few months they would pull off a remarkable escape act to survive on the final day of the season. Southampton would not be so lucky, dropping out of the league and beginning a seven-year exile from the top tier.

In the Six Nations, Wales beat Italy 38-8 in Rome on their way to a first title in more than a decade; Formula One teams were testing in Spain ahead of a memorable season which saw Fernando Alonso end Michael Schumacher's five-year dominance of the sport; and Lance Armstrong was preparing for his final Tour de France, the details of his industrial-scale doping exploits still little more than rumour.

Arsenal were English football's reigning champions, the previous campaign having borne witness to their Invincibles squad. But the new season had seen a changing of the guard, with Abramovich's money and Mourinho's management combining to make Chelsea a force. The Gunners had been beaten in the league in October, with Manchester United triumphing 2-0 at Old Trafford.

They then developed something of a habit for it, going down 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in November and then suffering two defeats in three games to Bolton (1-0 at the Reebok) and United again (a 4-2 drubbing in front of a stunned Highbury).

Yet in that very Wengerish style they averted crisis by going undefeated until the final game of the season. First it was Aston Villa, who the Gunners dispatched 3-1 away from home; next, on Valentines Day, Crystal Palace.

Arsenal had fielded just one Englishman at Villa Park, with Ashley Cole getting among the goalscorers. They also had Justin Hoyte – born in Leytonstone but latterly an international for Trinidad and Tobago – on the bench. They would also have been expected to field Sol Campbell, but the England international was out injured.

Nine days later they faced Palace at home. Campbell was still not fit, while Cole was unwell and Hoyte had also picked up an injury. As such, Arsenal's 16-man match day squad did not feature a British player, nor one from Northern or the Republic of Ireland. In fact, not one of their players that day would have spoken English as their first language.

Their squad looked more reminiscent of a Ligue 1 outfit: six Frenchmen, three Spaniards, two Dutchmen, a German, a Brazilian, a Cameroonian, an Ivorian, a Swiss – and of course a French boss in Wenger.

If any Arsenal fans were unhappy about this before kick-off they'd been quietened by the final result: three goals in seven first-half minutes from Bergkamp, Reyes and Henry, plus a further two after the break from Vieira and Henry again, ensured a 5-1 demolition. Palace's only goal came courtesy of an Englishman, however: Andy Johnson, who had an incredible knack for winning and scoring penalties that year, won and scored a penalty in the 63rd minute.

Questioned about the makeup of his side afterwards, Wenger denied he was aware of the lack of Brits: "I didn't know about that until I was told about it," said the Frenchman. "I don't look at the passport of people, I look at their quality and their attitude."

Yes, in that very Wengerish way, he simply hadn't seen it.

It is worth pointing out that Arsenal were not the first side to field an all-foreign 11. Chelsea beat them to this by more than five years, with no British players among the side that beat Southampton on Boxing Day 1999. What the Blues did have, however, was a bench consisting of four young Englishmen: Jody Morris, Jon Harley, Mark Nicholls, and a 19-year-old centre-back named John Terry.

As such Chelsea came in for less criticism, as they were seen to be developing young English talent alongside their global stars; given Terry's importance to the club over the following 16 years, you can't argue with that.

Indeed, Terry's presence – alongside the now-departed Frank Lampard and Arsenal convert Cole – served to keep a strong English presence in the Chelsea ranks during their glory years. Arsenal have also had continued domestic representation thanks to Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Welshman Aaron Ramsey. Manchester United's homegrown players have only recently faded out of the side, while Wayne Rooney is still puffing away up front. Liverpool passed the captain's armband from Steven Gerrard to Jordan Henderson, while Spurs currently have an impressive young English contingent headlined by Harry Kane and Dele Alli. Manchester City's first choice goalkeeper is also England's number one.

Which leaves you to conclude that, 11 years on from Arsenal's all-foreign squad, we're not in a very different place. The best English talent is still finding its way into the country's top sides, despite the billions pouring into the game and the near ubiquity of foreign owners. Maybe the balance is not perfect if your primary concern is to nurture English footballers, but from a quality standpoint the Premier League is in a good place.

Yet there remains something special about a local talent emerging to become a hero for his club. There is a reason why Tottenham fans sing "He's one of our own" about Harry Kane with such pride. The Premier League may be an increasingly global product, but it must retain that local heartbeat.