Over the years Manchester United and Arsenal have had some great battles. Who can forget Keane and Viera, Pizzagate and Keown Vs. Van Nistelrooy? Nowadays, both teams seem to be going through a never-ending “rebuilding” phase, so here are five games to whet the appetite!
5. Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United (CL semi-final), 5 May 2009
Playing at the Emirates against an Arsenal team, who were intent on playing in their second CL final. United won the game in the first ten minutes with goals from Park and Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored a second, before Van Persie pulled one back. The significance of this game – United dominated Arsenal and made a consecutive CL final.
4. Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal (PL), 28 August 2011
Teams have only scored 8 or more goals nine times since the inauguration of the PL. Doing it against one of your main rivals shows your dominance. A hat trick from Rooney, two from Young and goals from Welbeck, Nani and Park completed the rout.
3. Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal (PL), 24 October 2004
49 and unbeaten, Arsenal visited Old Trafford full of confidence. In a game filled with incidents, the unbeaten run ended abruptly following a penalty from Van Nistelrooy and a late goal from Rooney. The drama continued after the final whistle where Fabregas threw a pizza at Sir Alex. The match went down as “the battle of the buffet” but for United fans, it was ending the dominance of a major rival.
2. Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United (PL), 16 April 2003
United went into the game 3 points ahead but Fergie knew not losing was key. Van Nistelrooy opened the scoring followed by two goals from Henry, which put Arsenal in the lead. However, Giggs equalised immediately. The game is remembered for Fergie celebrating at full time knowing another title was pretty much sewn up.
1. Arsenal 1-2 Manchester United (FA Cup semi-final replay), 14 April 1999
Villa park, one of the most iconic English stadiums, hosted the semi-final replay. At 90 minutes the scores were equal, Bergkamp then missed a vital penalty during injury time. However, the moment to remember is when in extra time, Giggs picked the ball up from his own half and beat four men to score one of the most outstanding goals in FA cup history.
There have been several great games over the years. United need to channel the positive energy. The players should watch these games back. United weren’t always the better team but they won the mental battle, the determination to win and leave everything on the pitch needs to be instilled in the current crop.