What Happened To The Sauce? Fading Arsenal Vs Man United Rivalry

NAIROBI, Kenya- Growing up, everyone knew that the biggest and most anticipated football match was always Sir Alex Ferguson’s mighty Manchester United FC taking on Arsene Wenger’s sleek and stylish Arsenal FC.

It did not matter where in the world, one was from, but other than the world cup, whenever these two met the football world would stop to witness some of the greats battle it out in this blockbuster clash.

The reflection of the rivalry intensity comes on the brink of their 51st Premier League encounter set for Monday, October 30 at Old Trafford from 10pm. A clash that was once the highlight of the season, a potential title decider. Now, on the clasp of becoming an afterthought.

The rivalry between the two clubs only became a fierce one in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the teams regularly competed against each other for the Premier League and FA Cup titles both backed by arguably some of the most renown names in football history.

In recent years, it’s United that have held the key when the two sides have squared up to each other at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils unbeaten in their last 12 Premier League clashes with Arsenal at The Theatre of Dreams.

The rivalry has rather lost its mouthwatering appeal and rewind the clock back 15 years and the thought of these two accepting being second best to anyone, let another the other, are would have been laughable.

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They share 16 Premier League title triumphs between them and their rivalry was perhaps the most exciting aspect of the division for almost a decade between 1997 and 2005.

Many recall the ‘Battle Of Old Trafford’, when Arsenal salvaged a point in a barren draw away to their eternal rivals in a match characterized by fouls, a red card, confrontation and a missed last minute penalty.

The league game was played on Sunday, September 21, 2003 and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was among the long list of stars on the lineups.

Frenchman Patrick Vieira was sent off, Sol Campbell was later charged by the FA after a squabble on the pitch and Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy made it three misses from the spot in his last three matches after his 91st minute effort from the spot came off the bar.

This draw meant helped Arsenal achieve the unachievable by finishing the league campaign without suffering a single loss throughout the entire season, something no other club has managed to do to date.

In October of 2004 at Old Trafford, as though the rivalry could not get any sweeter, Manchester United were to be the ones to put a halt to the magnificent unbeaten streak, which had now extended to 49 games.

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Van Nistelrooy made no mistake from the spot this time and gave United the lead after Wayne Rooney was fouled and the Englishman made it 2-0 for the home side later to guarantee the win.

It was not going to be just another day at the office after such an encounter and true to it, tempers flared in the tunnel afterwards with Wenger confronting the Dutch goal scorer for a bad foul on Ashley Cole, prompting Ferguson to intervene.

Sir Alex’s good fortunes did him no favors as he ended up with a pizza slice being thrown at his face, forcing him to change into the club tracksuit before appearing for his post-match television interviews. A worthy end to another exhilarating duel.

Seasons went on and Arsenal still had not won a league title by 2011, a whopping seven years since their last triumph. That same year, they were handed the biggest defeat in the fixture, an 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford.

The Gunners finished the game with ten men after Carl Jenkinson was shown a red card but that was not their undoing as Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick did well to inspire his side to the rout of their rivals.

In the end, while it was hard-fought, and Arsenal won plenty of battles, United won the war. When Wenger was prepared to sell Robin van Persie to Sir Alex, you knew a permanent ceasefire had been declared

Arsenal and United have not properly competed for a title down to the wire since 2007/08, and currently neither are nowhere near the top of the embryonic league table.

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Games like this just don't mean as much when it's a genuine six-point barnstormer which goes a long way to deciding which end of the country the trophy will be heading that season.

But neither team have won the league for a while, and in Arsenal's case, a long while. Neither team could field a Roy Keane- or Patrick Vieira-esque competitor on the pitch and the departure of the iconic Wenger and Ferguson duo has played a major role in the tie losing its spice.

With only three Premier League titles to their name, all under the now departed Arsene Wenger, Arsenal are inferior to the 13 that United have under their belt but both teams need to pick up the pieces if they are to challenge for top honors in the land.

The last of their encounters ended in a 2-2 draw as Jesse Lingard’s equalizer secured a point for the home side after Marcos Rojo had given Arsenal the lead after heading the ball into his own net.

Monday’s fixture does not hold as much anticipation as the games throughout the years but for many it still remains a game where all their pride is on the line because at the end of the day, even if it’s not as big, Arsenal vs Manchester United will always remain a classic.