Arsenal aren’t generally known as a club that constantly start brawls, fights and riots, but that just makes the occasions where things do kick off all the more memorable.
Arsenal players are generally more likely to come off the pitch with an injury than a red card, and the fans will more often leave the stadium early to catch the last train than to wait outside the away end for a fight. However, let’s have a look at five times when that wasn’t the case:
3Martin Keown and Ruud van Nistelrooy
Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane were far from the only Manchester United-Arsenal pair to have a falling out as the two clubs challenged for the Premier League title every year in the late 90s and early 2000s. The other most memorable clash was between Martin Keown and United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ season.
It was actually an incident involving Vieira that started everything off. With Arsenal travelling to Old Trafford hoping to stay unbeaten, their chances took a knock after the Frenchman kicked out at the United man. Though his boot was probably a foot away from making contact, the midfielder was sent off anyway.
After that, Keown gave away a very soft United penalty with minutes to go, which van Nistelrooy promptly missed. The Arsenal defender ran over to taunt the striker, hitting him on the head with his arm and sparking a fight after the final whistle. Arsene Wenger said afterwards that van Nistelrooy was always “looking for provocation and diving”.
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