sport news Nigel Winterburn compares Arsenal's title challenge under Mikel Arteta to ... trends now

sport news Nigel Winterburn compares Arsenal's title challenge under Mikel Arteta to ... trends now
sport news Nigel Winterburn compares Arsenal's title challenge under Mikel Arteta to ... trends now

sport news Nigel Winterburn compares Arsenal's title challenge under Mikel Arteta to ... trends now

The bad blood in the Arsenal-United rivalry runs deeper than you can imagine. Take the end of the Invincible winning sequence in 2004, the Battle of the Buffet, when Cesc Fabregas lobbed a pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson after a disputed penalty ended Arsenal’s record-breaking, 49-game unbeaten run.

‘Arsene is still niggled by that penalty decision all these years later,’ says David Dein, former Arsenal vice-chairman in his recent book Calling The Shots.

We all knew Wenger was a bad loser but the tale Dein tells in the wake of that decision illustrates just how bad.

Arsenal have been excellent this season and sit eight points clear at the top of the league

Arsenal have been excellent this season and sit eight points clear at the top of the league

‘Arsene and I used to philosophise about things,’ writes Dein. ‘He once came up with the line about when he dies and goes to heaven and St Peter asks him which way he wants to go, his reply will be: “The opposite way to the referees.”’

Nigel Winterburn was a protagonist in another Battle of Old Trafford, this one in 1990, when his tackle sparked a mass brawl that saw Arsenal docked two points and United one – though Arsenal still went on to win the league.

‘It was insane through that period,’ says Winterburn, a two-time title winner at George Graham’s Arsenal, which is when the fire between these clubs was really ignited, and a double winner under Wenger in 1998.

It was. Past tense. Between 1993 and 2004, only Blackburn Rovers broke the United-Arsenal grip on the title.

They face Man United on Sunday, a fixture that was often fiery during Arsene Wenger's reign

They face Man United on Sunday, a fixture that was often fiery during Arsene Wenger's reign

But if you wanted to pick a date when the rivalry ceased to have significance as a global phenomenon in that frenzied ‘match of the season’ manner that is now reserved for Manchester City-Liverpool clashes, it would be an August afternoon at Old Trafford in 2011. United beat Arsenal 8-2 that day and Wenger looked emasculated on the touchline, his team no longer a rival to be taken seriously.

A few days after that defeat, in a desperate bid to restore his crumbling empire, Wenger did a mad supermarket sweep of the transfer market on deadline day, bringing in five players. Some didn’t fare so well: Chu-young Park, Andre Santos, Yossi Benayoun. One of those signings did do reasonably well though: Mikel Arteta.

‘I don’t think it was [just the 8-2 defeat] that gave me the opportunity but it probably helped, it was another layer probably,’ said Arteta, reminded of how he got to Arsenal in the first place on Friday.

The clash lost much of it's importance after United thrashed the Gunners 8-2 in 2011

The clash lost much of it's importance after United thrashed the Gunners 8-2 in 2011

‘I was lucky enough to get that phone call a few days before that defeat and then to have again the opportunity to play for this club. The circumstances are sometimes necessary for someone to be given the opportunity to experience something. Unfortunately it had to be [the 8-2 defeat]. It was a big result on the day. But after that, the rest is history.’

Whether it was history, is debatable. It was better. Arteta would captain the team to an FA Cup win in 2014 and Wenger’s team would win that trophy again in 2015 (Arteta was injured) and 2017 (he had retired from playing). Arteta the coach then won it for Arsenal in 2020. But history – the kind that involves a Premier League title – has yet to be made. Until perhaps now.

Since 2013 and the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, United went into their own decline precipitated by the loss of a legendary manager, meaning

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