their mettle, winning 1-0 at Old Trafford
through a Marc Overmars goal.
“I told you last week that the race was
not over when the bookmakers stopped
betting,” Wenger said as Manchester
bookmaker Fred Done paid out £17,000 early
on a United title win. “Surprise, surprise, they
have started taking money again...”
Arsenal did the double over United that
season as they secured both the league title
and the FA Cup. The bookies wouldn’t be so
cocky in future. Neither would Ferguson.
A WAR OF WORDS
The following season, the pendulum would
swing back to the North West, with the
campaign on both sides hinging on a single
penalty. Neck and neck in the title race,
United and Arsenal met in the FA Cup semi-
final. With just seconds of normal time to go,
Phil Neville brought Ray Parlour down inside
the United box. Referee David Elleray blew
for a spot-kick, and up stepped Dennis
Bergkamp – the Ice Man – to end United’s
treble dreams.
What happened next is perhaps the
biggest sliding doors moment of Wenger’s
Arsenal career. The Dutchman missed, Peter
Schmeichel pawing his effort away to keep
United in the tie. Ryan Giggs’ spectacular
solo run would eventually snatch victory for
United, a triumph that provided them with
the mental push to snatch back the title en
route to winning an unprecedented treble.
Bergkamp never took a penalty for the
Gunners again. Wenger chose to start
rebuilding his tired side.
United made it three league titles in a row
from 1999 to 2001, with memorable jabs
from either side punctuating this period.
Thierry Henry’s iconic twist-and-flick finish at
Highbury would sink United in 2000; United
would respond with a 6-1 thumping in the
reverse tie.
By the summer of 2001, however, Arsenal
were ready to compete again – and in
November, again, Arsenal defeated United
at Highbury. If two mistakes and a wry smile
from Fabien Barthez didn’t leave Ferguson
close to exploding, then perhaps Wenger’s
slightly condescending comment about
enjoying Ferguson keeping him “on his toes”
the following February would, as the
Scotsman U-turned on his retirement plans.Top Marc
Overmars nets a
crucial winner
at Old Trafford
Above Ferguson
complains to an
unmoved
Wenger in 2004
at Highbury
Above right
Arsenal players
confront Ruud
van Nistelrooy
after the
Dutchman’s
missed penalty
at Old TraffordBATTLE OF
OLD TRAFFORD
An enraged Arsenal delighted in
tormenting van Nistelrooy after a
crucial miss in a fiery 2003 encounter“I can’t think of any other word when I
was getting ready to do battle with
Arsenal: hatred was the word,”
cantankerous Corkonian Roy Keane
claimed of United’s fiercest title rivals.
“But I behaved myself that day and I
regret it.”
In truth, he was one of few who did.
But though Lauren, Martin Keown,
Patrick Vieira and Ray Parlour were all
suspended by the FA, the game that
would come to be known as the Battle
of Old Trafford was a turning point in
the Gunners’ 2003–04 season.
Despite being unbeaten up to that
point, Arsenal were yet to truly slide
into fifth gear, but after surviving a
stoppage-time penalty to secure a 0-0
draw at United, Wenger’s men
defeated Newcastle, Liverpool and
Chelsea, before wins over Leeds and
Tottenham put them in the driving seat
for the title. That match at Old Trafford
was the closest that the Gunners came
to defeat all season, and following the
fiery confrontations at full-time they
were a team reborn.
“We could have paid for a new roof
at the FA for the amount we paid in
fines, but I don’t go through my life
regretting things,” Keown later claimed.
“You could say what we did was
unforgivable, but we jumped up and
down around him. The media were
focusing on that rather than the result.
“I rang my wife after the game, and
she’s usually very supportive, but she
said ‘I think you’ve gone and done it
now.’ It was the first time she’d ever
said anything like that.”“ ARSEnAL DID THE DOUBLE
OVER UnITED THAT SEASOn”
ImagesMark Leech/Offside/Getty Images (1996), John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images (Ferguson press),
Shaun Botterill /Allsport (Overmars), Clive Mason/Getty Images (2004), Paul Barker/AFP via Getty Images (Keown/van Nistelrooy)WEn GER VS
FERGIEFourFourTwo.com The Story of Man Utd 91