What was trending the last time Arsenal won the Premier League? It was 2004, 22 years ago

Arsenal Football Club have won the Premier League after a 22-year wait. Manchester City’s draw away to Bournemouth has mathematically secured the London club’s fourteenth league title. The players led by Mikel Arteta finally managed to break what had all the signs of a curse, avoiding mental collapses and navigating the weight of external pressure. The last Gunners side capable of such an achievement was the legendary Invincibles, who won the 2003/04 Premier League season without losing a single match. And 2004 itself was a special, iconic year — not only in football, but far beyond it. Between unforgettable sporting feats, technological breakthroughs, dazzling stars and global fashion trends, it perfectly captured the transition from the early 2000s into everything that would follow.

Football and the rise of the underdogs

In football, 2004 was the year of Cinderella stories and underdogs pulling off memorable triumphs. Werder Bremen completed a shock domestic double by winning both the Bundesliga and the German Cup, powered by the goals of Brazilian striker Aílton. In Spain, Valencia — featuring Cañizares, Aimar and Vicente — won La Liga, beating competition from Real Madrid, led by Pichichi winner Ronaldo and new signing Beckham, as well as Barcelona, where Ronaldinho had just arrived and Joan Laporta had been elected president for the first time. Under Rafa Benítez, Valencia also conquered the UEFA Cup by dismantling Olympique Marseille and Didier Drogba. In the Champions League, the fairy tale belonged to José Mourinho and Porto, who defeated Monaco 3-0 in the final, in a tournament where Deportivo La Coruña also stormed their way to the semi-finals. The masterpiece, however, came at Euro 2004, where Greece produced one of football’s greatest shocks, defeating hosts Portugal in the final. Luís Figo and a tearful Cristiano Ronaldo saw their dream collapse at the end of the young winger’s first major international tournament. In Italy, meanwhile, fans were moved by Roberto Baggio’s farewell to football at San Siro.

Nike Total 90, Predator Pulse and the most iconic football boots of 2004

Nike and adidas dominated the scene as kit suppliers for clubs and players alike. The American giant unveiled new lines ahead of the European Championship, introducing truly iconic boots and jerseys. The unforgettable Olé commercial featured Brazil and Portugal facing off while players wore the new Mercurial Vapor II and Air Zoom Total 90 III boots, alongside kits carrying the signature T90 design with the number circled in the centre of the chest. adidas answered with the black-and-red Predator Pulse and revolutionised speed football with the first-ever F50. Among the most beloved kits was AC Milan’s Opel-sponsored shirt worn by Brazilian newcomers Cafu and Kaká, while Nike produced memorable designs such as Inter’s home shirt worn by Adriano and Barcelona’s sand-coloured away jersey with thin horizontal red and blue stripes. One less successful decision, however, was the standardisation of goalkeeper kits implemented by Nike for clubs such as Arsenal and Juventus, featuring bright orange tones and awkward yellow shoulder panels.

David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and early 2000s football fashion

As a style icon, David Beckham was overwhelmingly dominant, helped further by his move to Real Madrid the previous summer. Constantly switching hairstyles between sharp buzz cuts and low ponytails, combined with popstar looks and effortless charisma, the Spice Boy earned a place in the TIME 100 as a cultural icon and even inspired Dolce & Gabbana’s summer collection. While Luís Figo embodied understated elegance, Cristiano Ronaldo began his Manchester United era with the quintessential early-2000s fashion-boy aesthetic: fitted shirts, gelled hair and flashy jewellery. That same summer, he would be joined at Old Trafford by England’s golden boy Wayne Rooney.

Across other sports, the spotlight belonged to the stars of the Olympic Games in Athens. Michael Phelps raided the medal table with six golds and two bronzes, Stefano Baldini won the marathon, Liu Xiang became the first Asian man to win a sprint event in athletics, and Argentina defeated Team USA in the basketball final. In motorsport, Michael Schumacher secured his seventh Formula 1 world title with Ferrari, while Valentino Rossi claimed his fourth consecutive MotoGP championship. Meanwhile, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal faced each other for the first time in a singles tennis match at the Miami Open.

MSN Messenger, MySpace and Facebook: the internet in 2004

In technology, 2004 was a pivotal year that would soon change the way people experienced the internet. On February 4th, Mark Zuckerberg co-founded TheFacebook, initially reserved for Harvard students. Mozilla Foundation launched the first version of Firefox, while Google introduced the beta version of Gmail, though many initially believed it was an April Fool’s joke because it launched on April 1st. That same year, MySpace — only one year old at the time — reached one million users, capturing the imagination of an entire generation alongside MSN Messenger.

Nokia dominated the mobile phone market with the legendary durability of its handsets, while Motorola released a device destined to become iconic: the Razr V3, an era when people still paid for polyphonic ringtones. Apple, meanwhile, was far from standing still. Although the iPhone was still years away, the company made waves with the iPod Mini and iPod Photo, devices capable of storing thousands of songs and digital photos. MP3 players and digital cameras nevertheless remained the kings of their respective sectors. As for gaming, the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox ruled the market, while two revolutionary handheld consoles — the Nintendo DS and the PSP — launched in Japan.

Y2K fashion trends: low-rise jeans, Ugg boots and metrosexual style

Fashion was heavily influenced by sports stars, musicians and television celebrities. Among women, velour and chenille tracksuits made famous by Jennifer Lopez became a phenomenon, while Ugg boots turned into a must-have item in every season. Glittery tops, ultra-tight T-shirts, miniskirts and ultra-low-rise jeans were equally popular, alongside boho-chic knitwear and oversized belts. The look was completed with oversized sunglasses, pin-straight hair, side fringes and dramatic highlights.

Men’s fashion, meanwhile, split between the rise of the polished metrosexual look — featuring more fitted, tailored outfits — and the popularity of trucker hats, layered T-shirts and open shirts worn over tees. Speaking of T-shirts, the “Vote for Pedro” shirts inspired by the American comedy Napoleon Dynamite became an enormous hit. On people’s wrists, watches were optional, but the yellow Livestrong bracelet created by cyclist Lance Armstrong in the summer of 2004 was almost unavoidable, designed to raise awareness and support for cancer patients and survivors. Elsewhere, Karl Lagerfeld became the first major designer to collaborate with H&M, forever changing the fashion industry and paving the way for future fast-fashion partnerships with luxury designers.

MTV, Beyoncé, Green Day and the soundtrack of 2004

The music charts of 2004 were filled with genuine classics. Beyoncé won five Grammy Awards, but the charts were dominated by Usher’s album Confessions, featuring hits such as Yeah! with Lil Jon & Ludacris, Burn and My Boo with Alicia Keys, who herself enjoyed huge success with If I Ain’t Got You. The debut album by Maroon 5, released two years earlier, remained in heavy rotation thanks to tracks like She Will Be Loved and This Love, alongside The Way You Move and Hey Ya! by Outkast, originally released in 2003. The previous year also continued to deliver iconic singles such as The Reason by Hoobastank, I Don’t Wanna Know by Mario Winans, and especially Numb by Linkin Park and Toxic by Britney Spears. 2004 also saw the release of Snoop Dogg’s Drop It Like It’s Hot, Eminem’s Mockingbird from Encore, and Green Day’s album American Idiot, featuring songs like the title track, Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Wake Me Up When September Ends. In Europe, meanwhile, charts were taken over by the Moldovan phenomenon Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone.

The music videos for all these songs inevitably aired on MTV, the ultimate hub of youth pop culture at the time. Alongside Britney Spears and J.Lo, Christina Aguilera remained one of pop’s reigning queens, joined by American celebrity icons such as Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson. Among the most searched men online were Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt. In cinema, 2004 was a major year: Shrek 2 surpassed $900 million at the box office, while Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Spider-Man 2 battled for audience attention. It was also the year of Troy, The Passion of the Christ, Kill Bill: Volume 2, and animated hits such as The Incredibles and Shark Tale. On television, timeless series continued to dominate screens: while audiences still followed The Sopranos and The Wire, American TV welcomed the debuts of Desperate Housewives, Lost and House. In Italy, viewers discovered The O.C., while the world said goodbye to Friends and Sex and the City, both reaching their final seasons.

Why 2004 remains one of the most iconic years ever

In bookstores, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code remained the best-selling novel for the second consecutive year, while toy stores were filled with Bratz dolls and the Robosapien robot during the Christmas season. Fitness culture and healthy eating had not yet become mainstream trends, yet Dr Robert Atkins’ low-carb diet plan exploded in popularity. The world was also shaken by tragic events such as the March 11 Madrid train bombings carried out by Al-Qaeda affiliates at Atocha Station, and the devastating 9.1 magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that struck Southeast Asia and parts of Africa.

The year also marked the passing of legendary figures including manager Brian Clough, Ronald Reagan, Marlon Brando, Psycho actress Janet Leigh, the original Superman Christopher Reeve and Ray Charles. In politics, George W. Bush was re-elected President of the United States, while ten new countries joined the European Union. Finally, in Norway, two thieves stole Edvard Munch’s masterpieces The Scream and Madonna in broad daylight from the Munch Museum — paintings that would only be recovered two years later.