Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may have Nottingham Forest's top-flight unbeaten league run of 42 games in his sights tomorrow, but his over-riding aim is to emulate Brian Clough's tally of two European Cups.

Wenger admits only "crazy people" would have predicted that the Gunners could have gone through the whole of last season unbeaten in the Premiership.

However, he now insists that there is still room for improvement within his title-winning squad as he challenged them to move on to "another level" of achievement.

Forest's record has stood for more than 25 years but Arsenal can match that feat by avoiding defeat against Middlesbrough at Highbury tomorow, while Blackburn visit north London next Wednesday.

Wenger declared: "What Nottingham Forest did under Brian Clough was unbelievable because of the size of the club.

"It would be great to match their record, but of course it's even more of a challenge to win two European Cups like they did.

"The challenge for us is to get to another level together. That takes something special from everybody and we want to show we are ready to do that."

Clough, who does not lavish praise freely, has been impressed with Wenger, describing the Arsenal boss as an "icon".

In an interview with England's Sun newspaper, he described Arsenal as being "as close to perfection as any side I have seen".

Wenger, who has yet to taste European success, responded: "That's maybe too much but it's good from him to get a compliment. I rate highly what he did at a club like Forest."

Last season's achievement was memorable enough, with Wenger admitting he had never truly believed it was possible.

"Only crazy people can tell you that I knew I'd go a whole season unbeaten because you are ready for an asylum when you are convinced of that completely," he insisted.

Now, however, he is looking for his side to improve even further, with Patrick Vieira having stayed and much more expected of younger players such as Jose Reyes and Cesc Fabregas.

"Frankly, we don't look at the moment like we have no room for any more improvement. We can get better. How much, I don't know," added Wenger. "But as long as you get the balance right between experienced players and young players, you can improve.

"I think we can still be more rigorous and more clinical."

Unbeaten runs The pace-setters

PRESTON 1888-89 (unbeaten throughout season) The 'Invincibles' are the only other team to have gone through an entire campaign unbeaten, and they did it in the inaugural season of the Football League.

Over the season's 22 games North End had to cope with a cholera epidemic, low gates because of rumours Jack the Ripper was on a murderous tour of Lancashire and financial problems.

BURNLEY 1920-21 (30 games unbeaten) Remarkably Burnley lost their first three games of the campaign but they bounced back with an unbeaten run which stretched from September to Easter and set up their first championship success.

LEEDS 1973-74 (29 games unbeaten from start of season) Leeds bounced back from losing the 1973 FA Cup final to Second Division Sunderland by avoiding defeat in their first 29 games of the following season.

Don Revie's fearsome side looked unstoppable as they powered towards the First Division title, but their run came to a surprising end at the hands of Stoke in February 1974. The defeat was the start of a tricky patch for the Yorkshire side but they recovered to win the title by five points from Liverpool.

LIVERPOOL 1987-88 (29 games unbeaten from start of season) Ian Rush's departure was swiftly forgotten as Liverpool, with John Barnes, John Aldridge and Peter Beardsley in their ranks, swept all before them.

They won the league comfortably but a shock loss to Wimbledon in the FA Cup final denied them the double.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1977-78 and 1978-79 (42 games unbeaten) After a 1-0 defeat by Leeds in November 1977, Forest did not lose again until playing Liverpool in December the following year.

Their sequence began with a goalless draw against West Brom and led them to the 1978 league title.

With the European Cup also in the bag, Forest began the '78-'79 campaign in the same formidable fashion. A 2-0 loss at Anfield eventually proved their undoing and in the end they had to settle for the league runners-up spot behind the Merseysiders. Arsenal v Middlesbrough