In recent history, the combination of items of food and Arsenal has caused considerable controversy.
Just over a decade ago, on the 24th of October 2004, Manchester United prevented Arsenal from taking their 49 match unbeaten streak to 50 with a controversial, contentious 2-0 victory over the North London side at Old Trafford but the affair is arguably more famous for what happened in the aftermath.
The game was a tough one, with Jose Antonio Reyes saying it was “the hardest match” he had ever played, being on the receiving end of so many kicks from the opposition.
A young Wayne Rooney, playing on the day of his 19th birthday, won a debatable penalty following a foul from Sol Campbell which allowed Ruud van Nistelrooy to give Manchester United the lead in the 73rd minute before Rooney wrapped up the three points with a strike of his own.
A fracas erupted in the tunnel with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Dutch striker van Nistelrooy at the heart of the goings-on before a pizza slice, allegedly thrown by Cesc Fabregas, was lobbed in the direction of the Manchester United players, hitting manager Sir Alex Ferguson square on the cheek.
A stunned silence followed the echoing slap of pizza – the moment and following fallout was forever known as ‘Pizzagate’.
Lasagnegate
Less than two years on, another culinary incident with links to Arsenal occurred. The whole scenario sounds like a dodgy detective story: old rivals, £10 million pounds and a buffet of contaminated lasagne.
Background
In the 2005/2006 season, Tottenham Hotspur had held 4th position since the Christmas period. The Spurs side, managed by Martin Jol and featuring the dynamic duo of Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane plus a pre-Manchester United Michael Carrick, had performed exceedingly well during the campaign, with their stylish, elegant football taking them on the cusp of a Champions League place and a higher finish than Arsenal in the Premier League table for the first time in 11 years.
All Tottenham had to do to ensure bragging rights in North London was match or better Arsenal’s result. Spurs were tasked with West Ham away; Arsenal had Wigan at home which was the last game at Highbury before the transition to the Emirates Stadium took place. But it was not to be. Tottenham would end up losing 2-1 against 2006 FA Cup finalists West Ham whereas Arsenal ended up beating Wigan 4-2.
Food poisoning
Martin Jol had taken his Spurs side to the Marriot West India Quay to spend the night of the 6th of May 2006 in, before their tie against West Ham. The five star hotel had laid a buffet on for the Spurs players, from which the majority of the players decided to tuck into some lovely lasagne. However, the lasagne was not so lovely.
When midnight arrived, the Spurs players who had chosen the Italian dish all saw their health leave. Ex-Juventus and Oranje midfielder Edgar Davids went green in the face. Finn Teemu Tainio’s stomach and bowels were finished. Furthermore, Michael Dawson, dimunitive winger Aaron Lennon, Czech Radek Cerny as well as Keane and Carrick, who had just come back to full fitness, were struck with the bug, all starters in Spurs' first eleven.
Game day
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy found out about the endemic in his teams camp and tried to call Richard Scudamore, the-then Premier League chief executive, to get the game postponed. The reply was news Levy did not want to hear. Scudamore had said that should Spurs fail to play on the Sunday against West Ham, a points deduction could be on the cards following a Premier League inquiry.
The choice Levy was presented with was as follows: tell Jol to play on with a predominantly ill eleven or not play at all and risk receiving a points deduction that could strip Spurs of their guaranteed place in the UEFA Cup. Levy chose the first option – keep calm and carry on.
Jol had tried to get the match moved back a few hours to an evening kick-off to allow for his ill players to get some fluids in them and recover more but organisers feared what would happened should the jovial yet raucous West Ham fans, in celebratory mood, be left at pubs from lunch time to late afternoon. As such, the match kicked off at 3pm; no time change came about.
West Ham win
First blood went to the side from the East of London, with Carl Fletcher scoring a fizzing effort from 30-yeards out before West Ham old boy, and pantomime villain for the day to the Hammers faithful, Jermain Defoe replied on the 35 minute mark with a wonderful effort of his own, twisting and turning Danny Gabbidon before firing into the near post, in front of the watching Sven-Goran Eriksson, who had to choose a 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Both Arsenal and Tottenham went into the half-time interval drawing, with the Gunners having just equalised before the break to make it 2-2 against Wigan whilst Spurs and West Ham had a goal each.
Thierry Henry would have the final say at Highbury, scoring two more goals in the second half to add to his one already bagged in the first, giving him a hattrick in Highbury’s last ever game and Arsenal a 4-2 victory.
Spurs were aware of Arsenal leading 4-2 when Yossi Benayoun heaped more misery on them. His goal in the 80th minute ended Spurs’ Champions League qualification hopes for that season and it would not be until 2010 that Tottenham Hotspurs would make their Champions League bow.
Foul play?
The ignominy of missing out on Champions League qualification and the £10 million windfall that comes with it to ye olde rival Arsenal was not something Spurs were willing to take without a fight. A complaint to the Premier League and request for a replay was rejected – West Ham also had the small trouble of preparing for the FA Cup final and, presumably, could not be bothered with the hassle.
The attention turned to the food that caused the suspected poisoning, with particular focus falling on that lasagne. The food was checked and re-checked to see if a death-dealing disease existed within the mince – cheese – pasta – tomato combo but nothing was revealed. Ultimately, Tower Hamlets Council decided the Marriot were innocent and the hotel was absolved of any wrong-doing.
No proof ever linked an Arsenal player or an Arsenal employee to the incident. Although the Arsenal squad did spend the night of the 6th of May 2006 at the neighbouring Four Seasons hotel, allegations from Spurs camps were merely from fans even though Levy did suspect some tampering.
Could there have been an opportunity to sneak something into the food? As it turns out, no, nothing was wrong with the food. Instead, the Tottenham players were identified as having norovirus, more commonly known as the winter vomiting bug.
Catching the winter vomiting bug in May? The mystery of 'Lasagnegate' continues.