Arsenal made history but Wenger's double dream seems further away than ever

Arsene Wenger watched his young side make history 14 years ago as Arsenal secured a win at the home of the European champions.

The Gunners scored twice in the final six minutes to beat AC Milan at the San Siro.

In doing so they became the first English side to topple the Rossoneri in their own back yard with Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor both notching.

The season earlier Milan had beaten Manchester United 3-0 at the San Siro before seeing off Liverpool in Athens to claim a seventh European crown.

But Arsenal came of age in Italy after a goalless draw at the Emirates in the first-leg.

A Milan side, led by Carlo Ancelotti, and featuring the likes of Kaka, Paolo Maldini and Andrea Pirlo were toppled and Wenger could not hide his admiration.

He said: "We eliminated the holders with a great performance. I am very proud of the players because we played with enthusiasm and dominated the game without making any mistakes."

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Arsenal were enjoying a hugely impressive year and had aspirations to end a title drought that dated back to their 2004 Invincible season.

The Gunners had lost just once in the league by April and Wenger, having seen his young team perform so competently in Italy, had eyes on doing a unique double.

He said: "Now our dream is obviously to win both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. This team is very hungry for success.

"Young players like ours want to win everything and this victory can also help us to play better in the domestic league."

A Champions League - Premier League double has only been completed by Manchester United, which underlines its difficulty.

It would prove to be beyond Arsenal. Their win at AC Milan was sandwiched by a league run that saw them go winless in five, picking up just four points.

To say their season unravelled would be harsh given they finished just four points off eventual champions United.

Yet a season in which Wenger spoke about the double ended with no domestic prize and a quarter-final European exit at the hands of Liverpool.

It is the closest the Frenchman would get, although Arsenal did come back to make the Champions League semi-finals a year later.

Again it was an English side who would undo them.

Wenger would spend another decade at the helm after the 2007/08 season, eventually leaving the Gunners as a sixth-placed team.

Title tilts in 2014 and 2016 seemed to sum up the second part of his tenure. Threatening to accomplish great things before frailties cost them dear.

The capture of three FA Cups in four years only masked failures elsewhere.

Unai Emery came in and couldn't guide the Gunners back to the heights of yesteryear, with a Europa League final loss in his first year the closest he came to silverware.

Now with Mikel Arteta at the helm Europe is again on the horizon as Arsenal push for the top four.

Yet, with Wenger speaking about winning the Champions League and Arteta speaking about simply qualifying for it, the downfall is underlined.