Graham Stack: The forgotten Invincible

When you think of the great Arsenal Invincibles side of 2003/4, Graham Stack probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind.

But while Jens Lehmann was between the sticks for the entire unbeaten season, number two keeper Stack was having an invincible run of his own, surviving several disastrous adventures off the field.

A mischievous local lad who grew up in a pub, Graham was an unlikely choice for Arsene Wenger’s famously tight ship.

As a 16-year-old, he would drive to training with his hungover Dad passed out in the passenger seat. On another occasion he commandeered the team bus and ended up breaking the windscreen and the driver’s nose.

The despairing Gunners banished Stacky on loan to Belgium in 2002, but trouble found him again when two Antwerp ultras rushed the field and tried to attack him. He knocked out one and the other beat a hasty retreat.

Graham returned to Highbury that summer expecting to languish in the reserves. But to everyone’s surprise, Wenger made him his second choice keeper.

Finding himself among highly paid superstars like Dennis Bergkamp, Freddy Ljungberg and Pascal Cygan, Stacky saw a business opportunity. He trawled London’s markets, haggling over knock-off Gucci handbags and loading them into his Citroen Saxo.

As Christmas approached, the young keeper flogged his haul to his teammates, who showered their delighted wives in Gucci gear and told them they’d been shopping in the West End.

The scheme worked perfectly until the WAGs arrived at Arsenal’s Christmas party, and it slowly dawned on them that they were all decked out in identical fake Gucci clobber. The bargain-hunting stars got an earful in the cab home, but Stacky was already on to his next scheme.

When Liverpool visited Highbury that season, it was billed as a crucial test of the Gunners’ title credentials. But for their substitute keeper, it was another nice little earner.

Sneaking off for an illicit pre-match burger, Stacky spotted a drunken Liverpool fan begging for a ticket. He flogged the Scouser his stadium pass, took £50 off him, and expected to never see him again.

So imagine his horror when the bumbling drunk emerged from the tunnel just after half-time, stumbling between the technical areas and blocking the view of Arsenal assistant Pat Rice.

Stack spent the second half babysitting him, but the Scouser escaped at the final whistle, and was later dragged from the Liverpool dressing room by two policemen.

As Arsenal marched towards immortality, Wenger had his side on a tight leash. But Stacky’s mischief continued. He narrowly avoided hypothermia after Ray Parlour bet him £100 he couldn’t keep his head in an ice bucket for a whole minute.

Then, out of the blue, Wenger called him to his office. “It is the uhh, how you say, League Cup third round against Rotherham tomorrow. I am starting the kids - you will be in goal.”

Graham Stack’s Arsenal debut turned out to be a thriller. The game went to penalties, and after failing to save any of Rotherham’s first eight penalties, the 22-year-old keeper had to take one.

He buried it, keeping Arsenal in the shootout. And then he saved the decisive penalty, sending the Gunners through.

Mobbed by his teammates, Graham was proclaimed a Gunners legend.

Arsenal were eventually eliminated in the semis, and Stack was confined to bench duties for the rest of the season as the Gunners pulled off their incredible unbeaten campaign.

As an unused sub for the whole season, he was denied a winner's medal. But you’ll find him in the celebration photos - a grinning auburn-haired keeper. It’s Graham Stack, the forgotten invincible.