Fights in the tunnel, touchline bust ups and plenty of red cards – Arsenal versus Manchester United has seen it all and tonight they do battle again.
The game has lost its edge slightly since the 90s and 00s when the two were going head-to-head for trophies and the fixture was considered the biggest in the country.
In recent years, it has been Arsenal who have dropped away through their period of transition and United have recorded some easy wins.
However, when the teams meet tonight, it will be Arsenal coming in as favourites with United struggling to adapt to life without Sir Alex Ferguson.
Many United fans are fearing the worse, so to help them rediscover their faith in the Reds, MM looks back at five of United’s best results away to their cockney rivals.
5. Premier League 2009/10: Arsenal 1-3 United
United had destroyed Arsenal in the Champions League at the Emirates the previous season but they were still yet to win there in the Premier League.
Arsenal were beginning to fade as title contenders as their Invincibles side had begun to crumble and they enter the years of transition.
United, on the other hand, were on the trail of four consecutive league titles but having lost Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer they were lagging behind a strong Chelsea team.
This game though proved that United were still a force without them as some more fast pace counter attacking football gave the Red Devils a 3-1 win to take three points from the Emirates for the first time.
4. Premier League 2002/03: Arsenal 2-2 United
This was the height of the United/Arsenal rivalry.
Arsenal were reigning Premier League champions after having ended United’s run of three consecutive titles and they were chasing back-to-back titles of their own for the first time in the Premier League.
United had begun the season terribly but a fantastic run after Christmas put them back in title contention making this game a title decider.
If United were to lose, Arsenal would open up a six point lead and seriously derail the Reds’ title chances.
However, Ferguson’s side took the game to the Champions and managed to come away with a 2-2 draw that kept them in the title race.
Eventually Arsenal faltered and United remained strong as they went on to claim an eighth Premier League crown.
3. Champions League Semi Final Second Leg 2008/09: Arsenal 1 – 3 United
United were gunning for a quadruple and aiming to be the first side in the Champions League era to retain the famous trophy having beaten Chelsea the previous year.
However, Arsenal had bested United 2-1 in the league at the Emirates that season and having managed to come away from Old Trafford only winning 1-0 in the first leg it was going to be a tough trip for the Red Devils.
After eleven minutes the tie was over.
United shocked a frozen Arsenal side as they were caught out by some excellent counter attacking football – Park Ji-Sung and Cristiano Ronaldo put the Reds two up.
United went on to win 3-1 to go through 4-1 on aggregate and reach a second straight Champions League final but they came unstuck to a rampant Barcelona in Rome.
2. League Cup Fourth Round 1990/91: Arsenal 2 – 6 United
Boring, boring Arsenal as they were know under George Graham were notorious for their solid no nonsense defence which rarely conceded.
United, meanwhile, were in the process of building something special under Alex Ferguson and a youthful Red Devils side tore Arsenal apart in this Rumbelows Cup Fourth Round tie.
Lee Sharpe was the star of the show bagging a hat-trick and helping United on their way to their biggest win away over the Gunners.
United reached the final that year and although they went on to lose to Sheffield Wednesday, their new youthful approach that night was the first glimpse of Ferguson’s dominant United side of the 1990s.
1 Premier League 2004/05: Arsenal 2-4 United
Arguably the most heated of the battles between the two.
Earlier in the season United had ended the Gunners’ 49-game unbeaten run in controversial circumstances at Old Trafford which ended up in Ferguson covered in pizza.
This left the return fixture more anticipated than a heavyweight boxing match and the trash talk prior to the game replicated one.
So much so that right before the game Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane almost came to blows in the tunnel over an incident involving Gary Neville.
The result itself wasn’t going to affect the title race as by this stage Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were already running away with the crown.
This, however, didn’t affect the two sides as they went hammer and tong in order to claim bragging rights.
In the end it was United who stole the search as a mix of youth and experience led them to a first win at Highbury for over five years.
Picture courtesy of fakelvis via Flickr, with thanks
Videos courtesy of Sky Sports via YouTube, with thanks
