Arsenal visit Old Trafford to face Manchester United today for a fixture which is likely to revive memories of some of the English game’s most bitter battles.
After a decade of fighting tooth and nail for the top prizes, images of Roy Keane’s tunnel row with Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown’s gleeful celebration of a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty miss and the juicy tales of “pizza-gate” following a United win over the Gunners are etched in the memory.
The rivalry between the two clubs has been less fierce in recent years as Arsenal faded from the picture.
But the meeting between the teams in the Champions League semi-finals last season — a tie easily won by United — and Arsenal’s impressive start to the current campaign gives this weekend’s game a more combustible look.
Outsiders and pundits have queued up to tell Gunners boss Arsene Wenger that the best years are behind his team — his greatest team being the unbeaten “Invincibles” side of 2003-2004 — but the Frenchman himself begs to differ as he is again backing his side to win the Premier League.
Despite having not won any significant silverware since 2005, Wenger refuses to be fazed, backing the young age of his team to stand Arsenal in good stead.
“A team which averages 28 or 29 years old can maybe improve by 5 percent but a team averaging 22 years old can improve by 30 percent,” he said.
Sir Alex Ferguson will be one of those men mentioned trying to stop Wenger from completing his wish of winning the Premier League but United’s season has not got off to the most comprehensive of starts ahead of Arsenal’s visit.
A 1-0 loss to newcomers Burnley was a huge surprise and prompted many to suggest United are not the same side without Cristiano Ronaldo following his move to Real Madrid.
But United will go into the Arsenal encounter buoyed by a 5-0 victory over Wigan — the perfect response to the critics following their loss at Turf Moor.
The team has been creatively led by Wayne Rooney since Ronaldo’s departure and he has magnificently repaid Ferguson’s faith by having his best ever start to a Premier League campaign with four goals in three matches.
United are likely to need all his abilities against Arsenal but he is confident he can fulfill Ferguson’s expectations of 25 goals this season.
Rooney said: “Of course 25 is a target which I hope I’m going to reach.”
“I’ve always said I should score more and hopefully I’ll do that this season. I’ve got what I wanted. I like to play through the middle,” he said. “The manager has come out now and said I am going to play there throughout the season so I’m delighted with that.”
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