rsène Wenger
took to the
Emirates
Stadium pitch
for the last time in 2018 following a 5-0
victory against Burnley. The legendary
manager was leaving the club he loved, and
for one final time he addressed the fans who
had followed him for 22 years.
One of the first cheers in Wenger’s speech,
however, came for the man with whom the
Frenchman had formed the Premier League’s
defining rivalry: Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson
was recovering from a brain haemorrhage
he’d suffered earlier that month, and with all
eyes on Wenger, one of the first things he
asked from the crowd was to wish Ferguson- a man who Gunners knew almost
intimately well – the best of health.
By this point, the rivalry was long in the
past. Time had thawed the ice between two
bitter opponents, warming it into mutual
respect and even appreciation for what the
other had achieved. Now, reportedly, the
pair are friends. They discuss football over a
glass of wine. But it wasn’t always that way.
ARSÈnE WHO?
Gunners fans wondered whether they were
set to get Johan Cruyff as their manager in- Instead, vice-chairman David Dein
was instrumental in recommending a friend
of his with whom he’d sung karaoke one
night in the late 1980s.
“They say he’s an intelligent man, right?
Speaks five languages?” Ferguson said to the
media after Wenger’s appointment. “I’ve got
a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who
speaks five languages.”
It’s safe to say that the Scotsman was not
fearful of being usurped as the king of
English football. After all, he had no equal.
Fergie was offered the Arsenal job in
1986 but chose to manage Scotland at the
World Cup before taking charge of United
after the tournament. His early years in the
job were tough, but the Old Trafford outfit
kept the faith and were eventually
repaid when shrewd signings
started to blossom.
A
By 1996, United had won three of the first
four Premier League campaigns and
completed a domestic double in two, helped
in no small part by the schemes and mind
games their manager deployed. In 1992
Ferguson had outwitted Howard Wilkinson of
Leeds United to turn an enquiry for Denis
Irwin into the catalytic capture of Eric
Cantona. He then followed this superb trick
by hoodwinking Blackburn Rovers boss Kenny
Dalglish to sign Roy Keane behind his back in
1993, sending his countryman into a
seething rage. And Fergie was at it again just
months before Wenger came to the Premier
League, provoking Newcastle United
manager Kevin Keegan to such an extent
that he spiralled into his now iconic “I would
love it” rant in response to Ferguson’s snipes.
It was lonely at the top for the United gaffer- and that’s exactly how he liked it.
In truth, Wenger wasn’t Ferguson’s
challenger immediately. The Frenchman
began his revolution during the 1996-97
season by revitalising an ageing defence,
changing the dietary habits of his players and
bringing more little-known gems through
Highbury’s famous Marble Halls. Patrick Vieira
was the first, with Emmanuel Petit and
Nicolas Anelka following. The classic back
four was given a new lease of life, and it
wasn’t just the drinking culture of the
previous regime that disappeared: you
weren’t even allowed sugar in your tea.
“ He’s a novice. He should keep his opinions
to Japanese football,” Fergie laughed when
Wenger questioned the fixture scheduling
favouring United that year. He’d have no
doubt scoffed at the marginal gains in diet
and fitness Wenger was making while his side
strolled to a fourth title. He wasn’t laughing in
Wenger’s second season, though.
Having lost 3-0 to Derby County the
previous week, Arsenal were in danger of
handing United a seven-point lead at the top
of the Premier League table in November 1997
when they hosted a Reds Devils side who were
sweeping all before them. The match would
prove to be the first of many dramatic clashes
between the two managers, with Arsenal
racing into a 2-0 lead before Teddy
Sheringham pulled the visitors level with a
brace before half-time. In the end, former
United trainee David Platt’s late goal won the
game. Yet while it was first blood to Wenger,
by the second half of the season United were
11 points up, with Arsenal constantly chasing.
The 1997–98 title was to be decided as
much by nerve as talent. The bottle that
United had shown for years had to be
matched by Arsenal; the mind games that
Keegan had succumbed to had to be
ignored. In March 1998, Arsenal showedAbove Arsène
Wenger is unveiled
to the press at
Highbury in 1996
Below Sir Alex
Ferguson addresses
reporters at
United’s Carrington
training ground
ahead of a clash
with Arsenal during
the 2005-06 season