The Arsenal and Manchester United rivalry has been going on for a long time between two of the best teams in the world, with both clubs having a rich history and tradition. Learn more now. The most important match in round 34 of the Premier League, which took place a few days ago between Arsenal and Manchester United, still recalls with emotions and drama. Hence, Man United's ticket to Europe's most prestigious Champions League arena is now out of reach thanks to Arsenal's victory. Back to the past, let’s 247sport.net learn more about the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United.
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Going back to the Premier League memories from the last years of the last century to the beginning of this century, the story of English football is quite different. From 1998 to 2005, Manchester United and Arsenal ruled English football. In less than a decade, the two North and South giants have shared 13 domestic titles. And their confrontation is a specialty.
It's was “civil war” between England's South and North with very different identities, between the godfather of English football and the French romantic philosopher, a battle that could spark an explosion at any time. The arrivals of Arsene Wenger and Dennis Bergkamp challenged Alex Ferguson's power. In fiery summer 1997, Arsenal began to resurrect , with the arrival at Highbury of Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, and Nicolas Anelka. They were immediately engulfed in the battle to win the Premier League and FA Cup double with the Red Devils.
The tipping point that triggered the long war between the North and South occurred in March 1998. Overmars, the "disgusting Dutch guy" dubbed by the Manucians, made Man Utd shot down right in the Theatre of Dreams by Arsenal in the Premier League for the first time. As a result, the chapter on nearly a decade of rivalry was opened.
April 1999, Man Utd revenged the grudge received from Arsenal more than a year ago. In a moment of despair, Vieira bestowed Giggs on going into history. After receiving the ball from Viera's failed pass, Giggs twisted his way around the Arsenal defense before unleashing a cannonball that knocked Seaman down.
The rivalry on the field changed Ferguson and Wenger's relationship from one of complete respect to one of indifference and even enmity. Wenger has consistently accused the FA of being biased in scheduling a replay for MU. Ferguson also chastised Wenger for failing to follow polite British tradition, claiming that "that French guy" never sat down to drink wine after the game.
The animosity peaked on October 24, 2004, when Man Utd officially "killed" the legend of Arsenal's undefeated warriors. It was a confrontation in which the two opponents' emotions boiled over, making the soccer players appear ready to rush into each other and transform into gladiators. Ferguson said: "In the tunnel Wenger was criticising my players, calling them cheats, so I told him to leave them alone and behave himself. He ran at me with hands raised saying 'what do you want to do about it?' It's a disgrace, but I don't expect Wenger to ever apologise, he's that type of person"
After Sir Alex Ferguson was hit in the head by a slice of pizza during the scuffles, the game became known as the 'Battle of the Buffet'. “The next thing I knew I had pizza all over me. They say it was Cesc Fabregas who threw the pizza at me but, to this day, I have no idea who the culprit was”, Sir Alex Ferguson addressed the topic in his autobiography, which was published in 2013.
Fabregas, who was only 17 years old at the time. But the most powerful symbol of the “war of kings” was the confrontation between the two leaders, Vieira and Roy Keane The two despise each other from the start of the tunnel, and are ready to slam into each other like alcoholic thugs if there is no intervention.
The rivalry between the two leaders reached a climax in 2005 in the Highbury tunnel. Despite referee Graham Poll's intervention, Roy Keane dashed to where Vieira was pointing and yelled, " come on have a go at me".
That was also their final growl at each other. In the summer of 2005, Viera joined Juventus. Keane also left Manchester United only a few months after the opponent due to irreconcilable differences with Sir Alex Ferguson. The rise of Chelsea, led by the "arrogant Portuguese" Jose Mourinho, and the “rich neighbor” Manchester City gradually eroded the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United.
Since then, English football has had fewer interesting and dramatic stories about archbishops, but the flame of hatred has never died.
Exciting, fiery matches between the two teams are still waiting ahead. Stay tuned to 247sport livestream football website with live matches to more Arsenal and Man Utd rivalries. For more information, please comment in the comment box.
