Once upon a time… the Arsenal’s invincible side was fresh off an unbeaten season and had kept that streak going into the following tournament. Arsene Wenger still had the majority of his key players at his disposal along with a 17-year-old rising star in Cesc Fabregas. On the other hand, Manchester United had struggled in league play and were 11 points behind first place after just 10 games. A side with numerous stars in their lineup that simply wasn’t clicking and it forced them to start the league off on the wrong foot. United had the chance to end Arsenal’s unbeaten run the previous season but had failed to do so. However, it was precisely the first Manchester United vs Arsenal 2004-2005 fixture that would see them get their revenge.
United started off the game by dominating right from the start. The home side maintained possession during the first few minutes but were unable to trouble Jehns Lehmann. Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs saw their shots blocked by the tireless Arsenal defense as they kept their clean sheet.
A few minutes later came controversy. A poor giveaway by Gary Neville saw Arsenal quickly launch out in a counterattack. Thierry Henry recovered the ball around the half field mark and played the ball back to Edu. The Brazilian midfielder saw Ljungberg dashing run behind United’s defense and played him a fantastic ball into space. A speedy Ljungberg got to the ball before Rio Ferdinand but the United defender was able to stick his foot in before Ljungberg could control the ball. It did appear as is Ferdinand came from behind and got the player before the ball. The referee however, saw it differently and did not call the foul. Had it been a foul, it would’ve been a straight red card for the cornrow-wearing Rio Ferdinand.
Arsenal would again have a golden chance when Reyes migrated to the middle of the pitch and found Dennis Bergkamp in between United’s defensive line. Bergamo was just a step or two too slow and could not pull the trigger on time. Before the Dutch striker could even strike the ball, Gary Neville had come to clean up the mess. Both sides would have to settle for a 0-0 draw to end the half.
A lackluster second half for both teams who were carefully planning their next move in the chess game that they call “football”. That was until the 73rd minute when a sloppy Arsenal side gave up the ball inside their own third and struggled back on defense. 19-year-old Wayne Rooney played a great combination play with Ryan Giggs on the wing. As Rooney took Sol Campbell on and cut right, Campbell foolishly stuck out his leg and made no contact with the ball. Though contact with Rooney was questionable, it was enough to fool the referee who gave United yet another penalty.
It was a perfect chance for Ruud Van Nistelrooy who had missed a penalty the season before against Arsenal thus allowing them to finish undefeated. Van Nistelrooy looked to erase that haunting memory by slotting this penalty home and giving his club a 1-0 lead. The Dutch striker did just that as he sent Lehmann the wrong way to make it 1-0 for the home side.
Arsenal were forced to go out and look for the game if they wanted to remain unbeaten. They produced some great combination plays but their final shots failed to test the keeper. Because they went all out on the attack, they left openings in the back and Giggs was inches away from capitalizing. Scholes played Giggs on a masterful through ball but Giggs tried to slot it between the keepers legs and it become an easy save for Lehmann.
In the final minutes of the game, Giggs sound Louis Saha in the gap and the substitute orchestrated a simple but effective 3v3. Saha played Alan Smith on the wing and Smith picked out an unmarked Wayne Rooney in the middle to make it 2-0.
United had ended Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run in front of their own fans who celebrated it like a title. That would result in the only “title” for United that season as they went trophyless. Arsenal would go on to finish second in the league after Chelsea and win the FA Cup.
Sir Alex would eventually retire in 2013 while Wenger still remains at Arsenal for reasons that are beyond me. 13 years later, United seem to be making a return to Europe’s elite under Jose Mourinho while Arsenal continue their downhill spiral. Seems like an eternity has passed since Arsenal dominated the league like they used to. That was until United ended their streak that October night..
