With Arsenal set to face Manchester United on Saturday, we look at some of the Gunners’ greatest rivalries.
There is no need to have a pop quiz on Arsenal’s greatest rivals, even though some fans would argue that anyone who isn’t rooting for the Gooners is a sure adversary. Without going to such lengths, we can easily identify the Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea FC in this category. There have been significant disagreements with Manchester United as well, but these seem to be subsiding in recent times. Still, in the words of the old saying, Gooners are better off keeping their friends close and enemies closer, so there is hardly any harm in learning something about the stories behind these epic clashes in lieu of this year’s battle for the title.
2. Arsenal v Manchester United
As previously mentioned, the rivalry seems to have weakened its flame over the past decade, but there have been some individual, yet fierce collisions in the past. For one, Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane were two strong catalysts which managed to turn any match into a personal battle. Plus, Wenger didn’t really go along with long-lasting manager of the Red Devils, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Nonetheless, once both these personal rivalries were disrupted by the departure of both players and the resignation of Sir Ferguson, the teams were hardly able to find anything else to fight about. Over time, attempts subsided and the rivalry is all but gone today.