Seldom a dull moment when United face Arsenal

Let’s take a look at five standout matches between the two English giants

LONDON: Arsenal host Manchester United tomorrow in a clash crucial to both clubs as they try to finish the season in the top four of the Premier League.

We look at five standout matches between the clubs. The animosity between the clubs could perhaps be traced back to this fixture at Old Trafford, when the result was largely forgotten following a mass brawl that resulted in both teams having points deducted by the FA. Arsenal, who went on to win the title, scored the only goal, but Anders Limpar’s effort was largely irrelevant after all but one of the 22 players on the pitch were involved in an unseemly second-half melee. Arsene Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ claimed their place in footballing history after going the entire season unbeaten in 200304, but their run should have ended as early as September.

Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy slammed a stoppage-time penalty against the bar and was confronted by five Arsenal players in ugly scenes at the final whistle, with Martin Keown hurling himself chest first, arms spread

at the Dutch striker, who looked genuinely worried for his safety. It was perhaps fitting that Arsenal’s stunning unbeaten run was ended after 49 games by United at Old Trafford with Van Nistelrooy’s penalty and a late goal by Wayne Rooney.

Arsenal completely lost their cool in an intimidating atmosphere and events spiralled out of control in the tunnel afterwards in what became known as “Pizzagate”.

While the exact details remain sketchy, a food fight allegedly broke out with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson,

hit in the face by a flying pizza slice.

“This slice of pizza hit Fergie straight in the mush,” former Arsenal player Ashley Cole recalled. “The slap echoed down the tunnel and everything stopped the fighting, the yelling, everything.” So soon after “Pizzagate” the build-up to the return league clash resembled that of a title fight.

This time tempers reached boiling point before kickoff with United’s Roy Keane and Arsenal’s Patrick Vieira appearing to square-up, with referee Graham Poll stepping between the two midfield warriors.

A tempestuous game fol- lowed with Vieira putting Arsenal ahead, Ryan Giggs levelling and Dennis Bergkamp restoring Arsenal’s lead before the break.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice after the break before Mikael Silvestre was sent off for United but John O’Shea sealed the points late on with a lob. The teams’ rivalry had been typified by tight, edgy and sometimes explosive encounters, but their meeting early in the 2011- 12 season was anything but as Arsenal suffered their worst defeat since 1927.

United put on a ruthless attacking exhibition with Wayne Rooney scoring a hattrick, Ashley Young netting twice and Danny Welbeck, Nani and Park Ji-sung also on target.

It was Manchester City who went on to win the title, though, on a dramatic final day of the season. — Reuters ANOTHER “cheap option” for a Bafana Bafana coach! And yet we go around calling ourselves a top football nation...

Surely it is about time we accepted the reality that we are nowhere near being football’s royalty. For if we were, we wouldn’t be having Stuart Baxter returning for a second spell as coach of our senior national team coach.

Instead, we would have had a pick of either Herve Renard or his fellow Frenchman Hugo Broos taking over the post left vacant by Shakes Mashaba, the initial ‘cheap option” who was taking charge for the umpteenth time.

Damn, it could actually be the more pedigreed Carlos Quieroz making a return instead.

But the Safa coffers are a little on the dry side, and the decision as to who to hire has to take that into account, something top football nations never have to consider.

For them, the criterion is solely – can he take us to the next level, and if so we get him. Period.

But here at home, where the game – especially at Safa level – is yet to take on the status of a business, financial considerations always come into play.

We all know that Safa’s first choice was Quieroz,. And while it appeared they were going to be able to afford paying him, the snag came when Quieroz’s current employers Iran demanded that he be bought out.

Safa retreated from the deal, perhaps understandably so.

Next in line were the likes of Renard and Broos – and they weren’t going to come cheap.

But Safa want to drive around in a Maseratti but pay Mazda prices.

And therein lies our problem.

REMEMBER THE BAD BOYS: Manchester United’s Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira of Arsenal were the best of enemies.