Ahead of Arsenal’s FA Cup quarter-final date with Manchester United on Monday evening, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that Ryan Giggs’ goal to knock Arsenal out of the 1999 FA Cup semi-final still haunts him to this day.
“When Giggs retired I saw a replay of the goal and I think that goal won them the ‘Treble’ – because, if Bergkamp scores, the game is over,” Wenger explained. “I can still hear the shouts of that team, having won. They couldn’t believe it because they were down to 10 men. It was a trauma for us and a positive for them.”
“And in the same way they won the title – just. They played at Blackburn on May 12, the night after we had lost at Leeds in the last minute, when Nigel Winterburn was kicked off the pitch and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored at the far post.”
United had beat Arsenal to the title by one point during the 1999 campaign, but things are much different this time around with both clubs hardly hanging on to their top four positions; Arsenal third and United fourth currently respectively.
“Kaba Diawara had hit the bar twice for us in that game. And after that, they won the Champions League final in the last minutes – 1999 was a miracle year for them,” the Frenchman stated. "Ryan Giggs was at the peak of his career and that goal was certainly what decided their season.”
Then United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, led his team to history by winning the treble that season. The days of the midfield battles between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira made for some good entertainment over the years and always made the fixture a spectacle.
“For years, Arsenal versus Manchester United was the game of the season that decided the Premier League, but at this moment it’s not the case,” Wenger added.
“It is still a big game. It’s not just another game because also it’s the quarter-final of the FA Cup. We fought until now to be here and now we want to go to the semi-final.”
Both Wenger and current United manager Louis van Gaal have recently come under pressure from their respective fan bases, supporters demanding both teams improve their style of play.
“I know that if we want to qualify we have to produce a strong performance as they have lost just two games in the last 22. They won as well sometimes under Ferguson without being absolutely exceptional. No manager can maintain always the same quality. It is like that today.You have to be always perfect every single day. But our job is first of all about winning. For us, we have nothing special against Manchester United. We just want to qualify. That’s why I think, ‘Let’s not consider Manchester United. Let’s focus on our performance'.
“The FA Cup is about giving it your all on the day. We know they have a little advantage playing at home, at Old Trafford, where they feel confident. So to compensate for that we have to put more effort in and produce a really top-level performance.”