The 2000–01 season was Arsenal Football Club's ninth season in the Premier League and their 75th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club ended the campaign second in the Premier League, ten points behind reigning champions Manchester United. Arsenal reached the 2001 FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff in May 2001; in spite of dominating against Liverpool, they conceded two late goals, both scored by Michael Owen. In Europe, Arsenal made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1972, only to be eliminated on the away goals rule by eventual finalists Valencia.

Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer, commonly known as Lauren, is a Cameroonian former footballer who played as a right back. As an Arsenal player he won several trophies and is known as one of the 'Invincibles', a title given to the Arsenal squad in 2004 after they went undefeated in the 2003–04 season and won the Premier League title. He also won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and two Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002 with Cameroon. He holds dual Cameroonian-Spanish nationality due to being raised in Spain.