Arsenal vs Man Utd - Preview
January 20th 2012 17:04
Arsenal face defending champions Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium this weekend, looking to avenge their 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford back in August.
Over the years, this fixture has produced some crackers, and in some of those years, the results have often been title deciders, or key matches between what used to be the top 2 in England. That was of course before foreign owners took over clubs, and the game wasn't as controlled by money as it is nowadays.
HISTORY OF THE RIVALRY
Arsenal won the 1979 FA Cup Final against Manchester United thanks to Alan Sunderland's last gasp winner, but Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't believe the rivalry kicked in until 1987 when David Rocastle was sent off for a clash with Norman Whiteside.
A year later, Arsenal met Man Utd in the 5th round of the FA Cup at Highbury. Arsenal would win the game 2-1, but right near the end United got a penalty that would send the tie to a replay. Up stepped Brian McClair to seemingly level things up, but he fired well over the bar, and to the delight of the Highbury faithful, Arsenal were through. The crowd celebrated that day as if they'd won the cup. This fixture was beginning to heat up.
Link to McClair's penalty miss.
It took until 1990 for the rivalry to get serious. A Nigel Winterburn tackle on Brain McClair, followed by McClair kicking out at Winterburn, sparked a massive brawl between 21 of the players on the pitch (Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman was the only player not involved). Anders Limpar's strike gave Arsenal the 3 points that day, but Arsenal were docked 2 points by the FA, and Manchester United were only docked the 1 for their actions in the brawl. There was a huge sense of injustice around the club at the time, and in the end Arsenal went on to win the title that year anyway, despite the deduction, which lead to the Arsenal fans singing "You can stick your 2 points up your arse" come the end of the season.
The rivalry was put on ice until 1996/97 where Arsenal's Ian Wright and Man Utd's Peter Schmeichel clashed. First of all at Old Trafford in a 1-0 United win, where the Great Dane was accused of racially abusing Wright, but the FA said there wasn't enough evidence to do anything about it. Wright was fired up in the return fixture and lunged in two-footed at the goalkeeper, to infuriate the Dane. Wright would later accuse Schmeichel of being a racist once more.
A year later, Arsenal defeated United 3-2 at Highbury in a thrilling game. At Christmas, Arsenal didn't stand a chance of winning the title. Come March, Arsenal were well and truly in the title hunt. Marc Overmars and Alex Manninger were the stars for Arsenal on this particular day, and with Manninger looking unbeatable in the Gunners goal, Arsenal only needed one goal to win it. Marc Overmars was the man to provide that goal, and Arsenal won the Double in May.
Man Utd had all the joy the next year. Arsenal and Man Utd met in the semi final of the FA Cup in 1999. The semi went to a replay after a dull 0-0 draw at Villa Park 4 days before this. Dennis Bergkamp saw his penalty saved by Schmeichel in the last minute of normal time, before extra time saw the 10 men of United win thanks to a superb solo goal by Ryan Giggs. Cue the hairy Welshman's chest being visible for all to see. Heartbreak for Arsenal. Bergkamp vowed to never take a penalty again after his miss. He stuck to his word.
The heartbreak continued in May. Arsenal needed to win their final game of the season, and rely on Tottenham to help them out at Old Trafford. No chance. Arsenal did beat Aston Villa 1-0 thanks to a Kanu goal, but despite Spurs taking the lead at Old Trafford (which was probably the only time a Spurs goal was cheered at Highbury), United went on to win the game 2-1, and win the title. That year United won the treble, and Arsenal knew that if Dennis Bergkamp had scored that penalty, they could have been celebrating back to back Doubles. Instead, they watched United take the silverware, and Spurs won the League Cup. 1999 was not a good year for Arsenal fans.
Arsenal would be humiliated in a 6-1 defeat at Old Trafford in February 2001, but come May 2002, they were back for revenge. Arsenal had sealed the first half of another Double in Cardiff four days earlier, with a 2-0 win in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea. Now they had to win the league. And the next fixture was Man Utd at Old Trafford. Arsenal were without top scorer Thierry Henry for this fixture due to injury, but they did have the red hot, red haired Freddie Ljungberg in their starting line-up, as well as Sylvain Wiltord, who had netted a hat-trick against United in the League Cup earlier that season. It would be those two who played a massive part in the goal that sealed the Double for Arsenal. Wiltord played in Ljungberg, whose shot could only be parried away by United's Fabien Barthez, and Wiltord was there to send Arsenal fans everywhere absolutely crazy. The fans had a flag that day saying 'Old Trafford Champions Section'. Nothing can take that day away from Gooners, it was superb.
Wiltord's winner at Old Trafford
Man Utd would pip Arsenal to the title in 2002/03, Sol Campbell was sent off for elbowing Man Utd's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer late on, which added further fuel to the fire.
In September 2003, Arsenal went to Old Trafford for the biggest game of the season. In any normal game, and any normal rivalry, i'd be writing this one off as a dull goalless draw. But when Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was sent off for an incident where he 'kicked out' at United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the game turned nasty. The game got even nastier in the last minute when Diego Forlan was brought down in the penalty area, and United had a chance to win the game. And who else would take it but the Arsenal nemesis Van Nistelrooy?. Van Nistelrooy's penalty clattered against the crossbar, and Arsenal survived. That wasn't the end of it. Martin Keown jumped for joy at Van Nistelrooy's miss, hitting him on his way back down. A lot of the team joined in, including Ray Parlour, Ashley Cole and Lauren. Those 3, Jens Lehmann and Patrick Vieira were all charged for their involvement in the fights that day. Arsenal were fined £175k for not controlling their players, and only Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo faced fines for United. Arsenal had the last laugh that season though. Van Nistelrooy's miss meant Arsenal remained unbeaten at that point in the season, and they would remain unbeaten for the rest of the season, making them the first modern day club to go unbeaten for an entire league campaign.
Going into the 2004/05 season, Arsenal were still unbeatable. Arsenal were looking to increase their 49 game unbeaten record to 50 at Old Trafford in October 2004. To do that they would have to avoid defeat against Man Utd. In truth, Arsenal played very well in the game, and had chances in the game. As well as this, Arsenal should have had a penalty when Rio Ferdinand clearly brought down Freddie Ljungberg after he was played through by Edu. But it wasn't to be, and Arsenal were left fuming later when Wayne Rooney went down in the box after what was judged as a foul by Sol Campbell. Replays showed that Campbell had pulled out of the tackle, and in fact, Rooney had dived. This gave Ruud Van Nistelrooy the chance to put right his penalty miss of the year before, and he did just that, giving United the lead with just over 15 minutes remaining. In the last minute Rooney made sure of a United win, by slotting home a second United goal. Arsenal's unbeaten streak was over. Sol Campbell was still furious about the penalty given earlier in the game, and refused to shake Wayne Rooney's hand at the end of the match. Tempers boiled in the tunnel, and that is where this game was dubbed 'Battle of the Buffet' by the English press. An Arsenal player, reportedly then youngster Cesc Fabregas threw food (varying reports stated pizza, soup or coffee) at Man Utd's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
This game should also be known as the game that Jose Antonio Reyes was kicked off the pitch by Gary Neville, with a ridiculous amount of fouls on the young Spaniard going unnoticed by the referee. Reyes started the 04/05 season in superb form, but after the game at Old Trafford, he never recovered. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was also charged for a challenge on Ashley Cole too.
It was indeed the incidents with Jose Antonio Reyes that caused the next bust up between Arsenal and United. In February 2005, Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira hadn't even got out the tunnel by the time their feud had got underway. Gary Neville confirmed years later that it was an argument about the way that Reyes had been treated at Old Trafford earlier in the season that sparked it. The argument was caught on sky television cameras, and is in the link below.
Link - Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira's fight in the Highbury tunnel
Arsenal finished above United in 2004/05, but it was Chelsea who took the Premier League crown that year. Arsenal would meet United in the 2005 FA Cup Final in Cardiff. Man Utd dominated the game, but Arsenal hung in and dug deep in a poor display, and survived 120 minutes of mostly United domination. Jose Antonio Reyes was sent off in the last few minutes of extra time, but once it got to penalties, you fancied Arsenal. Paul Scholes was the only man to miss from the spot, and Roy Keane could only watch on, having already scored his penalty, as Patrick Vieira won the Cup for Arsenal.
That was the end of an era in a way. Chelsea were becoming a dominant force in English football thanks to Roman Abramovich's millions, and Arsenal haven't finished in the top 2 since. Vieira's penalty was his final kick in an Arsenal shirt before departing for Juventus later that summer, and Roy Keane left United a few months later by mutual consent. Add to that, Manchester City's millions, and Arsenal vs Man Utd isn't as big a deal as it was 10 years back. But it still means a lot to both sets of fans.
I don't see Arsenal winning this weekend, but they have surprised me against United before. Their record since moving to the Emirates against United certainly isn't terrible, so maybe, who knows?. Arsenal have a lot of injuries, but need to start picking up points sooner rather than later, if they're to be playing Champions League football next season.
I will leave you with this video, which sums up the rivalry, the passion that it brought, and if that doesn't get you fired up for this game, then I don't know what will!
Link : Arsenal vs Man Utd - THE FIGHTS!
Van Persie scores a consolation goal in Arsenal's dismal 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford in August
Over the years, this fixture has produced some crackers, and in some of those years, the results have often been title deciders, or key matches between what used to be the top 2 in England. That was of course before foreign owners took over clubs, and the game wasn't as controlled by money as it is nowadays.
HISTORY OF THE RIVALRY
Arsenal won the 1979 FA Cup Final against Manchester United thanks to Alan Sunderland's last gasp winner, but Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't believe the rivalry kicked in until 1987 when David Rocastle was sent off for a clash with Norman Whiteside.
Rocastle: Ferguson believes Rocky's clash with Norman Whiteside sparked the rivalry between these two sides.
A year later, Arsenal met Man Utd in the 5th round of the FA Cup at Highbury. Arsenal would win the game 2-1, but right near the end United got a penalty that would send the tie to a replay. Up stepped Brian McClair to seemingly level things up, but he fired well over the bar, and to the delight of the Highbury faithful, Arsenal were through. The crowd celebrated that day as if they'd won the cup. This fixture was beginning to heat up.
Link to McClair's penalty miss.
It took until 1990 for the rivalry to get serious. A Nigel Winterburn tackle on Brain McClair, followed by McClair kicking out at Winterburn, sparked a massive brawl between 21 of the players on the pitch (Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman was the only player not involved). Anders Limpar's strike gave Arsenal the 3 points that day, but Arsenal were docked 2 points by the FA, and Manchester United were only docked the 1 for their actions in the brawl. There was a huge sense of injustice around the club at the time, and in the end Arsenal went on to win the title that year anyway, despite the deduction, which lead to the Arsenal fans singing "You can stick your 2 points up your arse" come the end of the season.
The Battle of Old Trafford 1990
The rivalry was put on ice until 1996/97 where Arsenal's Ian Wright and Man Utd's Peter Schmeichel clashed. First of all at Old Trafford in a 1-0 United win, where the Great Dane was accused of racially abusing Wright, but the FA said there wasn't enough evidence to do anything about it. Wright was fired up in the return fixture and lunged in two-footed at the goalkeeper, to infuriate the Dane. Wright would later accuse Schmeichel of being a racist once more.
Ian Wright and Peter Schmeichel are separated after clashing in February 1997
A year later, Arsenal defeated United 3-2 at Highbury in a thrilling game. At Christmas, Arsenal didn't stand a chance of winning the title. Come March, Arsenal were well and truly in the title hunt. Marc Overmars and Alex Manninger were the stars for Arsenal on this particular day, and with Manninger looking unbeatable in the Gunners goal, Arsenal only needed one goal to win it. Marc Overmars was the man to provide that goal, and Arsenal won the Double in May.
Overmars scores a vital winner at Old Trafford, a defining win in their double winning season.
Man Utd had all the joy the next year. Arsenal and Man Utd met in the semi final of the FA Cup in 1999. The semi went to a replay after a dull 0-0 draw at Villa Park 4 days before this. Dennis Bergkamp saw his penalty saved by Schmeichel in the last minute of normal time, before extra time saw the 10 men of United win thanks to a superb solo goal by Ryan Giggs. Cue the hairy Welshman's chest being visible for all to see. Heartbreak for Arsenal. Bergkamp vowed to never take a penalty again after his miss. He stuck to his word.
The heartbreak continued in May. Arsenal needed to win their final game of the season, and rely on Tottenham to help them out at Old Trafford. No chance. Arsenal did beat Aston Villa 1-0 thanks to a Kanu goal, but despite Spurs taking the lead at Old Trafford (which was probably the only time a Spurs goal was cheered at Highbury), United went on to win the game 2-1, and win the title. That year United won the treble, and Arsenal knew that if Dennis Bergkamp had scored that penalty, they could have been celebrating back to back Doubles. Instead, they watched United take the silverware, and Spurs won the League Cup. 1999 was not a good year for Arsenal fans.
Arsenal would be humiliated in a 6-1 defeat at Old Trafford in February 2001, but come May 2002, they were back for revenge. Arsenal had sealed the first half of another Double in Cardiff four days earlier, with a 2-0 win in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea. Now they had to win the league. And the next fixture was Man Utd at Old Trafford. Arsenal were without top scorer Thierry Henry for this fixture due to injury, but they did have the red hot, red haired Freddie Ljungberg in their starting line-up, as well as Sylvain Wiltord, who had netted a hat-trick against United in the League Cup earlier that season. It would be those two who played a massive part in the goal that sealed the Double for Arsenal. Wiltord played in Ljungberg, whose shot could only be parried away by United's Fabien Barthez, and Wiltord was there to send Arsenal fans everywhere absolutely crazy. The fans had a flag that day saying 'Old Trafford Champions Section'. Nothing can take that day away from Gooners, it was superb.
Champions Section Flag
Wiltord's winner at Old Trafford
Man Utd would pip Arsenal to the title in 2002/03, Sol Campbell was sent off for elbowing Man Utd's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer late on, which added further fuel to the fire.
Sol Campbell is sent off for elbowing Solskjaer
In September 2003, Arsenal went to Old Trafford for the biggest game of the season. In any normal game, and any normal rivalry, i'd be writing this one off as a dull goalless draw. But when Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was sent off for an incident where he 'kicked out' at United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the game turned nasty. The game got even nastier in the last minute when Diego Forlan was brought down in the penalty area, and United had a chance to win the game. And who else would take it but the Arsenal nemesis Van Nistelrooy?. Van Nistelrooy's penalty clattered against the crossbar, and Arsenal survived. That wasn't the end of it. Martin Keown jumped for joy at Van Nistelrooy's miss, hitting him on his way back down. A lot of the team joined in, including Ray Parlour, Ashley Cole and Lauren. Those 3, Jens Lehmann and Patrick Vieira were all charged for their involvement in the fights that day. Arsenal were fined £175k for not controlling their players, and only Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo faced fines for United. Arsenal had the last laugh that season though. Van Nistelrooy's miss meant Arsenal remained unbeaten at that point in the season, and they would remain unbeaten for the rest of the season, making them the first modern day club to go unbeaten for an entire league campaign.
Keown gets in Van Nistelrooy's face after his penalty miss
Keown showing Van Nistelrooy exactly how much his miss meant to Arsenal
Going into the 2004/05 season, Arsenal were still unbeatable. Arsenal were looking to increase their 49 game unbeaten record to 50 at Old Trafford in October 2004. To do that they would have to avoid defeat against Man Utd. In truth, Arsenal played very well in the game, and had chances in the game. As well as this, Arsenal should have had a penalty when Rio Ferdinand clearly brought down Freddie Ljungberg after he was played through by Edu. But it wasn't to be, and Arsenal were left fuming later when Wayne Rooney went down in the box after what was judged as a foul by Sol Campbell. Replays showed that Campbell had pulled out of the tackle, and in fact, Rooney had dived. This gave Ruud Van Nistelrooy the chance to put right his penalty miss of the year before, and he did just that, giving United the lead with just over 15 minutes remaining. In the last minute Rooney made sure of a United win, by slotting home a second United goal. Arsenal's unbeaten streak was over. Sol Campbell was still furious about the penalty given earlier in the game, and refused to shake Wayne Rooney's hand at the end of the match. Tempers boiled in the tunnel, and that is where this game was dubbed 'Battle of the Buffet' by the English press. An Arsenal player, reportedly then youngster Cesc Fabregas threw food (varying reports stated pizza, soup or coffee) at Man Utd's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
This game should also be known as the game that Jose Antonio Reyes was kicked off the pitch by Gary Neville, with a ridiculous amount of fouls on the young Spaniard going unnoticed by the referee. Reyes started the 04/05 season in superb form, but after the game at Old Trafford, he never recovered. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was also charged for a challenge on Ashley Cole too.
This was a game in which Jose Antonio Reyes was kicked to shreds
It was indeed the incidents with Jose Antonio Reyes that caused the next bust up between Arsenal and United. In February 2005, Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira hadn't even got out the tunnel by the time their feud had got underway. Gary Neville confirmed years later that it was an argument about the way that Reyes had been treated at Old Trafford earlier in the season that sparked it. The argument was caught on sky television cameras, and is in the link below.
Link - Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira's fight in the Highbury tunnel
Arsenal finished above United in 2004/05, but it was Chelsea who took the Premier League crown that year. Arsenal would meet United in the 2005 FA Cup Final in Cardiff. Man Utd dominated the game, but Arsenal hung in and dug deep in a poor display, and survived 120 minutes of mostly United domination. Jose Antonio Reyes was sent off in the last few minutes of extra time, but once it got to penalties, you fancied Arsenal. Paul Scholes was the only man to miss from the spot, and Roy Keane could only watch on, having already scored his penalty, as Patrick Vieira won the Cup for Arsenal.
That was the end of an era in a way. Chelsea were becoming a dominant force in English football thanks to Roman Abramovich's millions, and Arsenal haven't finished in the top 2 since. Vieira's penalty was his final kick in an Arsenal shirt before departing for Juventus later that summer, and Roy Keane left United a few months later by mutual consent. Add to that, Manchester City's millions, and Arsenal vs Man Utd isn't as big a deal as it was 10 years back. But it still means a lot to both sets of fans.
I don't see Arsenal winning this weekend, but they have surprised me against United before. Their record since moving to the Emirates against United certainly isn't terrible, so maybe, who knows?. Arsenal have a lot of injuries, but need to start picking up points sooner rather than later, if they're to be playing Champions League football next season.
I will leave you with this video, which sums up the rivalry, the passion that it brought, and if that doesn't get you fired up for this game, then I don't know what will!
Link : Arsenal vs Man Utd - THE FIGHTS!
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