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Arsenal V Manchester United - The defining rivalry of the Premiership Era: What it was and is it now running out of steam?
As Arsenal and Manchester United lock horns yet again, Goal.com takes a look at what made the rivalry one of the enduring themes of the Premier League...
22-Jan-2012 1:27:00 PM
By Kaustav Bera
EDITORIAL
By Kaustav Bera
28th August, 2011 was not a definitive chapter in the Arsenal - Manchester United rivalry as many United fans would like to call it, when the Red Devils literally gunned down the Gunners, heaping upon them their worst defeat in the Premiership Era. Infact it was a stark reminder that Arsenal was no longer Manchester United's chief adversary and it was the cash-laden Blues who had dethroned Arsenal from being United's chief nemesis.
While Arsenal were indeed plagued by injuries and suspensions aplenty, the shocking margin of this defeat would really put a dampener on the rather tightly fought encounters which made the rivalry a pleasing sight for even neutrals.
This prompted an uncharacteristic spending spree from Wenger, and whether due to that or not, Arsenal are once again on the cusp of a Top 4 position in the Premier League and have progressed to the latter stages of Europe.
|A Blip In The Usual Hard Fought Encounters, Nothing More|
On the flip side, Manchester United's season has stuttered and stopped all the way throughout since then, with some momentary flashes of brilliance, punctuated by mediocrity and often downright abject surrenders. A side which many pundits claimed would finally equal the mighty Barcelona, crashed out of Europe and are still trailing their next door neighbours in the league. If there were rampaging five star routs, they were nullified by abject home surrenders to relegation candidates.
When Arsenal and Manchester United meet this Sunday at the Emirates, Goal.com hopes that the old fire of the original Manchester-London rivalry can be rekindled and looks at why this rivalry was one of its kind; and why not; since the surprising returns of the two torch-bearers, Theirry Henry and Paul Scholes certainly points to us going back in time...
|When Arsene Wenger Met Sir Alex Ferguson|
For the record, Wenger and Sir Alex have come toe-to-toe with each other a total of 46 times and remarkably its terribly close between them with SAF just edging it 21 to 16, a testament to the brilliance of both managers and how positions on the table have little effect on this particular showpiece contest. While Sir Alex has enjoyed far greater success than his French compatriot, with a stunning haul of 12 Premier League titles besides 2 European Cups, Wenger's Arsenal had been for a while, the only credible challengers to United's dominance and they have won three Premier League titles themselves, and have often battered the United juggernaut in Cup competitions.
You might have thought that the rivalry only extended to the playing field, but you could not be more wrong as the two managers have never shied away from taking potshots at each other. Sir Alex called Arsene a 'novice' in just Wenger's second year in England, after he had complained about United's fixtures being far easier. Ironically Wenger won the league with Arsenal that very season! Refusal to shake each other's hands, open criticisms of each other's style of play all fleshed out the rivalry even more. What is yet another indication of the Arsenal's torrid run of late is Sir Alex actually asking United supporters to stop the 'sick' chant and himself coming out in vocal support of his beleaguered adversary.
While Wenger's approach to the game has presented football watchers with one of the finest displays of incisive and free flowing possession football without bordering on monotony, Sir Alex has his own 'any means necessary' approach to win games. While it is often easy to brand critics of Wenger as 'glory-hunters' and his supporters as 'football purists' , it is also a fact that Ferguson's approach has brought Manchester United silverware far in excess of what Arsene has managed in that time. Nonetheless, the stark differences in their approach and everything else, is what gives the life-force of the rivalry.
|When Keown Confronted Van The Man: All Hell Broke Loose|
'The Octopus' grappling with 'Keano' for control of the central midfield and it was often, the person who came out on top that dictated the game for their respective team. Both were fierce hard men refusing to leave an inch and their 'no prisoners' attitude really made this something beyond an ordinary football game. The headlines were not restricted to what happened on the pitch as who can forget the now (in)famous rant of Roy Keane in the Highbury tunnel, after the United skipper had heard that Vieira had labelled Ruud a 'cheat'.
|Football Bloody Hell!|
With both these teams, it was not a case of success coming in short spurts, but even then there was a defining moment which could not be replicated and maybe never copied even in the recent future. Although United did win the Champions League again in 2008, the sheer drama of the 'treble' winning team of 1999 can never be replicated. They pipped Arsenal by a solitary point to win the Premiership, that too on final matchday winning against Tottenham while Arsenal lost. They wrapped up the FA Cup by beating Newcastle in the final, after again getting past familiar foes Arsenal in one of the best FA Cup semi-finals ever played.
But the best was indeed left for the last, and for the biggest occasion of them all, Europe. With three minutes of time added on, United were trailing to Bayern Munich by a goal. In a stoppage time Beckham corner United made it 1-1 through Sheringham. And then what transpired are written down in history books...
"Beckham... into Sheringham and Solskjær has won it!"
undefeated winning 26 and drawing 12, thus setting a first division record, and was the only second team to do so after Preston North End going a season unbeaten in the top flight. Even though they were knocked out of the FA Cup by eventual winners United and could not progress in the Champions League past Chelsea in the quarters. However to go unbeaten over a span of 38 games is some achievement, and the laurels heaped on the 'Invincibles' or 'Immortals' as they came to be called, were deserved.
|Wiltord's Wonder Goal Which Led Arsenal To Triumph|
Arsenal fans will not forget May 08, 2002 anytime soon after a solitary Sylvian Wiltord wonder goal at Old Trafford had sealed Arsenal's stamp on the Premier League trophy after they had gone on a 11 match unbeaten run, with United having no answer. However the rivalry is made all the more special as no matter what the current form of the team is, you will never see a one-sided encounter between Arsenal and United (sparing the 8-2 against effectively the Arsenal Reserves!).
If you wanted a match that had everything sans the kitchen sink, you did not have to look further than the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay. Yes Arsenal and United have played FA Cup finals, most recently in 2005 where Arsenal triumphed on penalties, but the 1999 semi-final was THE MATCH, with an early Beckham long range piledriver, cancelled out by Bergkamp's deflected strike, a Nicolas Anelka goal ruled out for offside, Keano getting sent off for a double booking, United having to play with ten-men for the last 30 odd minutes of normal time, Schmeichel saving Bergkamp's penalty in second half stoppage time and then the wonder goal from Ryan Giggs which sealed the tie for United. This was better than a Hollywood blockbuster any day of the week..
Along with excellence, there was also the bizarre with Arsenal still unbeaten in the 2004-05 ending their unbeaten streak of 49 games at where else, but Old Trafford going down 2-0. And at the centre of it all was another controversial penalty awarded to Wayne Rooney. It was the aftermath that made this match stand out, as an Arsenal player was alleged to have thrown certain food materials, reported variously as pizza,coffee, tomato soup at the United manager thus earning this encounter the sobriquet 'The Battle Of the Buffet' or 'Pizzagate'
Lately, however the sheen of the 'greatest rivalry in the Premiership era' is wearing off, largely due to the fact that Arsenal have spent six seasons without a trophy while in the meantime, United have taken the opportunity to overtake Liverpool with the most number of first division titles in their kitty while Sir Alex has added yet another European championship.
What do YOU think? Has the rivalry lost its significance of late? Can familiar faces spark a revival?
By Kaustav Bera
28th August, 2011 was not a definitive chapter in the Arsenal - Manchester United rivalry as many United fans would like to call it, when the Red Devils literally gunned down the Gunners, heaping upon them their worst defeat in the Premiership Era. Infact it was a stark reminder that Arsenal was no longer Manchester United's chief adversary and it was the cash-laden Blues who had dethroned Arsenal from being United's chief nemesis.
While Arsenal were indeed plagued by injuries and suspensions aplenty, the shocking margin of this defeat would really put a dampener on the rather tightly fought encounters which made the rivalry a pleasing sight for even neutrals.
This prompted an uncharacteristic spending spree from Wenger, and whether due to that or not, Arsenal are once again on the cusp of a Top 4 position in the Premier League and have progressed to the latter stages of Europe.
|A Blip In The Usual Hard Fought Encounters, Nothing More|
On the flip side, Manchester United's season has stuttered and stopped all the way throughout since then, with some momentary flashes of brilliance, punctuated by mediocrity and often downright abject surrenders. A side which many pundits claimed would finally equal the mighty Barcelona, crashed out of Europe and are still trailing their next door neighbours in the league. If there were rampaging five star routs, they were nullified by abject home surrenders to relegation candidates.
When Arsenal and Manchester United meet this Sunday at the Emirates, Goal.com hopes that the old fire of the original Manchester-London rivalry can be rekindled and looks at why this rivalry was one of its kind; and why not; since the surprising returns of the two torch-bearers, Theirry Henry and Paul Scholes certainly points to us going back in time...
|Guess What Henry And Scholes Are Back!|
| The Professor comes up against The Scottish Knight |
|When Arsene Wenger Met Sir Alex Ferguson|
For the record, Wenger and Sir Alex have come toe-to-toe with each other a total of 46 times and remarkably its terribly close between them with SAF just edging it 21 to 16, a testament to the brilliance of both managers and how positions on the table have little effect on this particular showpiece contest. While Sir Alex has enjoyed far greater success than his French compatriot, with a stunning haul of 12 Premier League titles besides 2 European Cups, Wenger's Arsenal had been for a while, the only credible challengers to United's dominance and they have won three Premier League titles themselves, and have often battered the United juggernaut in Cup competitions.
You might have thought that the rivalry only extended to the playing field, but you could not be more wrong as the two managers have never shied away from taking potshots at each other. Sir Alex called Arsene a 'novice' in just Wenger's second year in England, after he had complained about United's fixtures being far easier. Ironically Wenger won the league with Arsenal that very season! Refusal to shake each other's hands, open criticisms of each other's style of play all fleshed out the rivalry even more. What is yet another indication of the Arsenal's torrid run of late is Sir Alex actually asking United supporters to stop the 'sick' chant and himself coming out in vocal support of his beleaguered adversary.
While Wenger's approach to the game has presented football watchers with one of the finest displays of incisive and free flowing possession football without bordering on monotony, Sir Alex has his own 'any means necessary' approach to win games. While it is often easy to brand critics of Wenger as 'glory-hunters' and his supporters as 'football purists' , it is also a fact that Ferguson's approach has brought Manchester United silverware far in excess of what Arsene has managed in that time. Nonetheless, the stark differences in their approach and everything else, is what gives the life-force of the rivalry.
| The Menace In Midfield And More... |
|When Keown Confronted Van The Man: All Hell Broke Loose|
Football rivalries are never complete without fierce individual tussles across positions on the playing field. The United and Arsenal rivalry, similarly has its own fair (some would say excess!) share. Martin Keown's jubilant and boisterous celebration after Ruud Van Nistelrooy had missed a penalty in the 2003-2004 season to end the match as a stalemate at Old Trafford is still clear in the minds of fans. Then who can forget the clashes in the 1996-97 season between Arsenal forward, Ian Wright and United goalie, Peter Schmeichel on the field, which led to Wright accusing the Great Dane of being a racist, charges which the FA even after extensive investigation failed to prove. However, just as no greatest ever list is complete without Pele and Maradona, United-Arsenal clashes are also incomplete without the frequent encounters, both on and off-field between legends Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane.
|Better Times Indeed Roy: Now Where's That Red!|
'The Octopus' grappling with 'Keano' for control of the central midfield and it was often, the person who came out on top that dictated the game for their respective team. Both were fierce hard men refusing to leave an inch and their 'no prisoners' attitude really made this something beyond an ordinary football game. The headlines were not restricted to what happened on the pitch as who can forget the now (in)famous rant of Roy Keane in the Highbury tunnel, after the United skipper had heard that Vieira had labelled Ruud a 'cheat'.
| The Invincibles Vs The Treble Team |
|Football Bloody Hell!|With both these teams, it was not a case of success coming in short spurts, but even then there was a defining moment which could not be replicated and maybe never copied even in the recent future. Although United did win the Champions League again in 2008, the sheer drama of the 'treble' winning team of 1999 can never be replicated. They pipped Arsenal by a solitary point to win the Premiership, that too on final matchday winning against Tottenham while Arsenal lost. They wrapped up the FA Cup by beating Newcastle in the final, after again getting past familiar foes Arsenal in one of the best FA Cup semi-finals ever played.
But the best was indeed left for the last, and for the biggest occasion of them all, Europe. With three minutes of time added on, United were trailing to Bayern Munich by a goal. In a stoppage time Beckham corner United made it 1-1 through Sheringham. And then what transpired are written down in history books...
"Beckham... into Sheringham and Solskjær has won it!"
|The Immortal Eleven|
Meanwhile in the 2003-04 season, the magnitude of what Arsenal were on the cusp of achieving could be guessed by few. They had lost the league last season to United and in the very first match of the season played out a goal-less draw at Old Trafford with Ruud Van Nistelrooy famously scuffing a penalty after Vieira was sent off for a double booking. What Wenger's team then went on to achieve was truly phenomenal, they went the whole season
| Wiltord Wonder To The Battle Of The Buffet |
|Wiltord's Wonder Goal Which Led Arsenal To Triumph|Arsenal fans will not forget May 08, 2002 anytime soon after a solitary Sylvian Wiltord wonder goal at Old Trafford had sealed Arsenal's stamp on the Premier League trophy after they had gone on a 11 match unbeaten run, with United having no answer. However the rivalry is made all the more special as no matter what the current form of the team is, you will never see a one-sided encounter between Arsenal and United (sparing the 8-2 against effectively the Arsenal Reserves!).
If you wanted a match that had everything sans the kitchen sink, you did not have to look further than the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay. Yes Arsenal and United have played FA Cup finals, most recently in 2005 where Arsenal triumphed on penalties, but the 1999 semi-final was THE MATCH, with an early Beckham long range piledriver, cancelled out by Bergkamp's deflected strike, a Nicolas Anelka goal ruled out for offside, Keano getting sent off for a double booking, United having to play with ten-men for the last 30 odd minutes of normal time, Schmeichel saving Bergkamp's penalty in second half stoppage time and then the wonder goal from Ryan Giggs which sealed the tie for United. This was better than a Hollywood blockbuster any day of the week..
|The Invincibles finally gunned down by familiar foes|
Along with excellence, there was also the bizarre with Arsenal still unbeaten in the 2004-05 ending their unbeaten streak of 49 games at where else, but Old Trafford going down 2-0. And at the centre of it all was another controversial penalty awarded to Wayne Rooney. It was the aftermath that made this match stand out, as an Arsenal player was alleged to have thrown certain food materials, reported variously as pizza,coffee, tomato soup at the United manager thus earning this encounter the sobriquet 'The Battle Of the Buffet' or 'Pizzagate'
Lately, however the sheen of the 'greatest rivalry in the Premiership era' is wearing off, largely due to the fact that Arsenal have spent six seasons without a trophy while in the meantime, United have taken the opportunity to overtake Liverpool with the most number of first division titles in their kitty while Sir Alex has added yet another European championship.
|Sir Alex With Another UEFA Champions League Trophy|
Recently with the mass exodus of stars from the Arsenal side with the likes of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas leading the charge, the Gunners have looked a pale shadow of the once 'Invincibles'. Moreover, with the emergence of the Blue side of London with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea winning two league titles and stamping their supremacy over London as a force to reckon with. With the resurgence of Tottenham too under Harry Redknapp, Arsenal are no longer the defining club of the English capital as currently both sit over the Reds from London. Even nearer at home, United themselves trail their next door 'Blue' neighbours, the gasoline-powered Manchester City team who till sometime were all set to replicate the Arsenal immortals. 
| Mass Exodus Of Arsenal Stars A Result Of The Trophy Drought?|
The influx of money might have shifted the attention away from the mind games between the two tactical experts of English football, and the two squads no longer boast the likes of Bergkamp or Beckham, yet the two teams will be hungry to prove that nothing can come close to the ferocity of an Arsenal-Manchester United matchup. And as we have already travelled back in time to see Thierry Henry and Paul Scholes donning their respective jerseys, you never know...and as they say "Impossible Is Nothing"What do YOU think? Has the rivalry lost its significance of late? Can familiar faces spark a revival?
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