The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United has become one of the most famous and fiercest affairs in English football since the clubs embarked on the most successful years in their long, rich and respective histories. The two sides face off for 218th time when they meet at The Emirates on Wednesday night in a game which will not define their seasons but could go a long way in deciding whether they will reach their targets. We take a look back at the history of this now world famous fixture:
The first encounter:
Woolwich Arsenal and Newton Heath first played each other in a competitive game on Saturday 13 October 1894 and it panned out to be a dramatic 3-3 draw in front of a 4,000 strong crowd in Manchester. A brace for Robert Donaldson and a goal from John Clarkin was enough to earn the home side a point despite Peter Mortimer and Henry Boyd netting for the visitors. Those in the stands at Bank Street that day didn’t know it then, but that six goal thriller was a fitting way to start one of the most captivating rivalries the English game has ever witnessed. Since then ‘Newton Heath’ have edged it in games against their London compatriots, winning 94 compared to ‘Woolwich Arsenal’s’ 79.
Crossing the divide:
Dutch striker Robin van Persie is the most recent player to move directly from one side to another after his controversial £25m move to United in the summer of 2012. He scored 30 Premier League goals for the London club the season before his transfer and ended his tenure there as the club's eighth highest goalscorer of all time. His move after eight years playing in the red of Arsenal may have rattled a few cages especially after he claimed “The little boy inside of him was screaming for Manchester United” but in the end his move was indeed worth it as he lifted his first Premier League title in his first season there. He is not the only one to have crossed the divide. The first to do so was Caesar Jenkyns in 1896, the Welshman joined Woolwich Arsenal just a year before and was immediately made captain of the side. He was written into the club’s history books as he became Arsenal’s first ever player to be capped at International level but just a mere few months later he completed his transfer to Newton Heath. His impact almost reached those of van Persie’s 116 years later as he helped his new side finish runners up in the old Second Division.
The second man who was to swap London for Manchester was Henry Boyd not even a year after his team-mate Jenkyns completed his move. Boyd became Arsenal’s most prolific goalscorer to date scoring 32 goals in 41 games, giving him an average of 0.780 goals-per-game. His time in South London, yes South, was once again short lived after incidents which included him running off to his native Glasgow and getting drunk whilst hurling insults at directors. His prolific goalscoring touch carried on up north as he converted 32 goals in 62 games for Newton Heath which included back to back hat tricks at the start of the 1897-1898 season. After Boyd there were no direct moves until 1961 when David Herd completed his £40,000 transfer to Matt Busby’s Red Devils. Herd was Arsenal’s top goalscorer for the previous four seasons but thought he could achieve more at Old Trafford. Achieve he did, winning two league titles, an FA Cup (Scoring twice in the final) and a European Cup winners medal.
All of these transfers have been one way and it remained that way until the 1970’s after Ian Ure and George Graham couldn’t resist the temptation. Goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer was the first to move down South and Brian Kidd followed after United’s relegation and became Arsenal’s top goalscorer in his debut season. All of these transfers remained rather low key but Frank Stapleton’s transfer to the red half of Manchester sparked huge controversy. Stapleton had scored against United in the FA Cup final of 1979 but after fuss about the transfer fee he completed his move and was subsequently branded a traitor by the Highbury faithful. The pacy Viv Anderson was to follow suit in 1987, becoming Sir Alex Ferguson's first signing. Jim Leighton was loaned out to Arsenal from Manchester after being frozen out of the side and won the 1991 league championship as a result. After Arsene Wenger took over the reigns at Arsenal transfer activity has been minimal between the two with only veteran centre back Mickael Silvestre and of course Robin van Persie having the nerve to shun one shade of red for another.
The Pre-Munich Meeting:
Thursday marked the 56th anniversary of the horrific Munich air disaster of 1958, an event which saw eight Manchester United players lose their lives. The team who were fondly remembered as the ‘Busby Babes’ played their last game on English soil against Arsenal at Highbury. This was yet another pulsating game with the visitors edging out a 5-4 win. Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton and Tommy Taylor put United three up at half-time. Soon to be Red Devil David Herd got one back for the home side before Jimmy Bloomfield scored twice to equalize. This joy was to be momentary as Viollet and Taylor both scored to put United two up before Derek Tapscott pulled one back for The Gunners. Memories of a truly remarkable game are overshadowed by the fact that five of the starting line-up perished just five days after the game. Goalscorers Tommy Taylor and Duncan Edwards were killed along with captain Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman and Mark Jones.
The finals:
What makes this rivalry so great is the fact that these are two of the most successful sides to have ever played the game and have met each other in many big cup ties over the years. Many now consider the Community Shield as the curtain raiser for the new season but the first time these two met with silverware at stake was the 1948 Community Shield when first division winners Arsenal met FA Cup winners Manchester United. The league winners came up trumps on this occasion and pulled a 4-3 win out of the hat in front of their home fans. Another high scoring game which saw six of the seven goals come before the half-time whistle. The next occasion these two faced off in a final was at Wembley Stadium in one of the most famous FA Cup finals ever. Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton put Arsenal, who were playing in their famous yellow away strip, two ahead before the break and they held that two goal cushion until the 86th minute of the game. Gordon McQueen pulled one back only for Sammy McIlroy to grab an equalizer minutes later and that looked to be the goal to send the game into extra-time. There was another twist in the tale as Alan Sunderland popped up at the other end with just a minute to go to secure a another FA Cup triumph. We had to wait another 14 years to see another Arsenal - United showpiece at Wembley and that came in the form of yet another Community Shield game. This time it was United who went into the game as the Champions and they overcame cup winners Arsenal on penalties after a 1-1 draw, Bryan Robson converting the winning spot kick. Five more ‘curtain raisers’ were played out until we saw the two giants lock horns once more in a ‘proper’ final. The FA Cup and the Millennium Stadium were calling in 2005. Arsenal answered and secured their tenth win in this competition thanks to Viera scoring the winner in a tense penalty shoot out. This was to be the last trophy we have seen Arsenal lift.
The battles:
Games against these two in the heydays of the 1990’s right up until the early 2000’s have been tight and cagy affairs. The first notable on pitch brawl was the game that arguably started this rivalry. The match at Old Trafford in the 1990-91 campaign saw two teams with title aspirations meet in a crunch game. Gooners left the ground the happier with a 1-0 win being recorded but the game will always be remembered for the scrap in the second-half. Full-back Nigel Winterburn slid in late on Dennis Irwin which sparked a 21-man fight in front of the dugout. No one was sent off but plenty were booked. Winterburn, Limpar, Rocastle, Davies and Graham were fined two weeks wages by the team making the trip up from the capital. One of the most poignant games in the history of the Premier League was to include the next big conflict. The 2003-2004 season will be remembered for many decades as Arsenal became the first team to complete an entire season unbeaten since 1886 but United and Ruud van Nistelrooy had the chance to end all that. This fixture was always going to be jittery but it became even worse when Patrick Vieira was sent off for kicking out at Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy which kicked off another costless-for-all in protest to the red card. When United won a penalty in the last minute of the game it looked to be all over but the Dutchman, who was in the spotlight throughout the game, smashed the ball against the bar. The chance to end the unbeaten run before it had really started was gone and as the final whistle went Martin Keown jumped on top of the embarrassed striker to ignite scenes of passion, anger and in the end, poor discipline.
In next season’s game at Old Trafford, Ruud exorcised some demons as he converted a controversial penalty to put his side on their way to end Arsenal’s record 49 game unbeaten run and they did just that when Rooney side footed the ball into the net to make it 2-0. It was not until the next morning did the public hear of a fight due to his particular battle occurring behind the scenes. Later to be named ‘The battle of the buffet’ it was reported that pizza and soup were thrown around by Wenger’s men within the tunnel. One slice was even said to hit Sir Alex in the head. An even more famous tunnel incident was to occur in the game at Highbury when an argument between captains Viera and Keane was recorded on camera.
Recent meetings:
Games against Manchester United and Arsenal in recent years have been rather one sided with the Red Devils losing just four times in 21 games against their rivals in all competitions since that FA Cup Final defeat in 2005. The Champions League Semi-Final win is most likely to stand out in every United fans’ mind but 17 of those games have been in the Premier League and some truly unforgettable moments have come out of them. Who could forget that late Thierry Henry winner in 2007? The sensational 2-2 draw played out at The Emirates in the same year? or even when Wenger was sent to the stands in 2009 after he let his temper get the better of him? The most famous of these Premier League games comes in the form of an 8-2 thumping of Arsenal. Already hurting from the loss of Clichy, Fabregas and Nasri the away side went into the game with a makeshift team that evidently wasn't good enough. Welbeck opened the scoring before Rooney claimed a hat trick, Young earned himself a brace, Nani netted and Park scored against Arsenal yet again. An absolutely humiliating defeat showed the gulf in class in a way that has never been shown before and many questioned if this once great rivalry was to end due to it being founded when the two were competing against one another for titles.
This certainly has not been the case. With Sir Alex Ferguson retiring last season his successor David Moyes must build a team of his own which could take a couple of years to do so. Wenger is still at the helm for The Gunners and he has exploited the amount of change taking place at all the big clubs this year. Despite Manchester United struggling this season they managed to secure another three points against Arsenal back in November courtesy of a Robin van Persie goal and the teams’ celebrations that day showed the competitiveness is still very much alive and breathing. Both teams go into the game on the back of disappointing results and are looking to bounce back in a game which will add to the long and prosperous history of such a great fixture.