body-container-line-1

On The Arsenal—Man. United Rivalry

By Evans Obu
Opinion On The Arsenal—Man. United Rivalry
NOV 22, 2014 LISTEN

The Arsenal FC - Manchester United FC rivalry is a notable in English Football as both clubs are recognized as having great history and tradition. The two clubs have frequently been in the same division as each other since 1919, the rivalry has largely arisen since around 1990. Many of the clashes in recent times between the two teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s have been due to the teams being fierce rivals for the Premier League and the FA Cup.


During this period there was enmity between two longest serving managers in the Premier League history, Arsenal Arsene Wenger ( 1996-present ) and United Sir Alex Ferguson ( 1986-13 ) and their former club captains Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane. The rivalry has been noted for on field trouble, culminating in 2003 and 2004.

In recent years with Arsenal being less competitive, the rivalry has diminished somewhat according to former gunners player Lee Dixon, while Ferguson has also stated that the two teams have cooled from those previously "heated" exchanges.

1990 - 2005
The season had already seen two high profile clashes between United and Arsenal-one being the ill-tempered league clash dubbed "Arsenal-United 21 brawl" at Old Trafford on 20 October 1990 and the gunners won by 0-1, the other Football league cup just over a month later. The two clubs were drawn to play at Highbury in the fourth round tie on 28 November 1990, United won the tie 6-2 with 19-year-old winger Lee Sharp scoring a hat-trick.

In 1990-91, Arsenal won the second of their league titles under George Graham management, loosing just one of their 38 league games all season. They sealed their title on 6 March 1991 just before the kick-off in their league against United at Highbury which Arsenal went on to win 3-1. Their title was confirmed without kicking a ball as their last remaining challengers Liverpool has been defeated by Nottingham Forest earlier in the day.

"BATTLE OF OLD TRAFFORD" 21 SEPTEMBER 2003.
Another key point in this rivalry was during the 2003-04 season. During this year, Arsenal went on to win the league title with an unbeaten record. They were labelled as "The Invincibles" and during their first game with Manchester United, they drew 0-0 at Old Trafford. Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira was sent off in the 80th minute for two bookable offences and in the second half stoppage time, gunners defender Martin Keown brought down United's Diego Forlan in the Arsenal penalty area. Ruud van Nistelrooy stepped up for the spot kick but his shoot rebounded off the crossbar. This was filled by scenes of jubilation from the Arsenal players especially Martin Keown who confronted van Nistelrooy after his miss. The resulting scuffle led to another fracas after the final whistle, which ended up with four players both sides being given yellow cards.

"BATTLE OF THE BUFFET" 24 OCTOBER 2004.
The British press refer to this memorable match as the "Battle of the Buffet" played at Old Trafford which eventually United's won by 2-0 to end Arsenal 49 matches unbeaten run, with goals from van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney.

Journalist Paul Wilson wrote in his preview of the October 2004 match; "Their rivalry is not simply about winning trophies, it is an adornment to the wider game"

The matches were also popular amongst British viewers-a league game between two in April 2003 was watched by 3.4 million viewers in Britain, making it the top-rated programme on multichannel television for that week.

Football summariser Andy Gray, formerly of Sky Sports said of the encounters; "In some ways it's maybe not surprising that our major clashes have been with United and Arsenal. They've been the Premiership's two dominant clubs and so the pressure is greatest on them"

The match was notable for a series of controversial incidents; not for the first time a meeting between the two sides was followed by claim and counter-claim of gamesmanship, bad refereeing decision and diving.

The 2005 FA Cup Final, between the two sides , was the first time in the competitions history that the final was decided on a penalty shoot-out. Arsenal beat United 5-4 following a goalless draw after extra time. Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes became the second player in the cup final to be sent off following his second yellow card near the end of extra time.

With their next meeting on 22 November 2014 at Emirates Stadium, 17:30 GMT, can Arsenal win the bragging right with so many injuries in both camps especially Manchester United ?

Both teams have played each other 218 times, firstly in 13 October 1894 in a 3-3 draw trailer. United boost of most win with 92 win to Arsenal 78 win with 48 draw.

1n 1997, Ferguson described Wenger as a "novice" for complaining about fixture programme and said of his linguistic skills. "They say he's an intelligent man, right? Speak five languages! I've got a 15 year old boy from Ivory Coast who speaks five languages.

EVANS OBU
SPORTS JOURNALIST
AN ARDENT ARSENAL FAN

body-container-line