Arsenal and Manchester United Not the Premier League Rivalry It Once Was

Perhaps we will look back on Saturday’s meeting between Arsenal and Manchester United and identify it as the point when one of English football’s biggest rivalries rediscovered its fire.

More likely, however, it will go down as another game in the middle of what has been a rather fallow period for both clubs.

Games between Arsenal and Manchester, either at the Emirates Stadium (and formerly Highbury) or Old Trafford, used to be the biggest head-to-head match of the English season, usually—but not exclusively—because they were the two teams fighting for the title.

Now, however, it seems inarguable that there are other, bigger games out there over the course of a campaign. Manchester City-Chelsea seems to have taken on bigger significance in the context of domestic supremacy, while perhaps fans of both United and Arsenal would rather win their local derby games (for United, Manchester City and Liverpool; for the Gunners, Tottenham) than meetings between the two clubs.

This was perhaps not always so, especially when Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, two of the more uncompromising captains the Premier League has seen, led out the respective sides.

“The rivalry between ourselves and Arsenal brought energy and passion," Keane wrote in his autobiography. "It was brilliant. I hated them. There was an element of jealousy there, too, because I knew they were a bloody good team. But ultimately, they made me a better player."

That has changed perceptibly now. It is more than 10 years since the two clubs completed a one-two at the top of the Premier League; last season they finished fourth and seventh in the final standings.

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This season they are sixth and seventh, with the indication after 11 games being that both might be fighting over Champions League qualification, rather than the league title, come the New Year.

When asked about the clubs' recent fortunes, Arsene Wenger said on Friday, per the Arsenal website:

"

It’s unusual but I’m sure that won’t last. You have to look further than the table and look at the quality of the players. I think it’s a very exciting game to watch.

Of course [this game still means a lot]. I would say even more so because the two teams are chasing a good record to try to climb up the table in the Premier League, which makes it a very important game.

"

Wenger is also facing a different opposite number, with Louis van Gaal stepping into the away dugout. While the Dutchman undoubtedly wants to win the match as much as Sir Alex Ferguson did, it is undeniable that the personal feelings between the two managers are not as complex as when Ferguson was squaring off with the Frenchman twice a season (at least) for well over a decade.

"It’s the first time I’m sitting on the bench against Arsenal as United coach," Van Gaal acknowledged, per The National, on Friday. "I have faced them when I was with Barcelona, then Wenger was on the bench. 

"The way they play for such a long time, he has an attacking way of playing, playing for the fans. The rivalry is normal in sport. It should be abnormal when it’s not like that."

The rivalry has not prevented players from moving between the two clubs. At the start of the season, Danny Welbeck crossed the divide, going the reverse direction to Robin van Persie a couple of seasons earlier. Both players can expect to (or already have) receive a certain amount of abuse from their former supporters, but on the pitch there has always been a reasonably warm reception from their former colleagues.

Wayne Rooney, United’s captain, told MUTV, via the BBC, this week:

"

For Danny, and his own career, it was probably the best move for him. He's done great and scored a few goals. Danny gives you what he always gives you—a good shift.

Of course, Danny has been here all of his life. He is a Manchester lad so it is weird seeing him there.

"

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As United captain, Rooney perhaps exemplifies why the fire between these two teams is no longer quite there.

"

Arsenal have got a good squad, an exciting squad with a lot of young players and a lot of English players which is great for England. We know they play with a lot of energy and we'll have to be at our best to beat them.

It's always a tight game and whoever gets the first goal normally wins or gets a result.

"

The games are often tight, but the result in recent times has become a little bit predictable. Another reason the rivalry has perhaps faded in recent seasons is that it has not actually been that competitive. Arsenal have only won one of the last 11 meetings between the two sides, while United have been on the winning side seven times. Rooney has played his part in that.

With all the injuries United are currently dealing with, Arsenal could scarcely ask for a better opportunity to start addressing that imbalance. In the long run, however, both sides will need to strengthen considerably to restore the rivalry to its heyday.

"We have drawn a lot against Manchester United and we’ve lost a lot recently at Old Trafford, but I don’t think we’ve lost a lot at home," Wenger added.

"They have always been chasing recently for the championship, we went through a period where we did not. But there is no block there. We feel strong at home at the Emirates and we have a good record in the last 25 games."