Arsenal and Manchester United are two of the oldest clubs in England, and share as many as 114 trophies between each other. While the history between them might not be as violent as the heat between United and Leeds, or United and Liverpool, there is a fair deal of competition in it’s past that made the encounter something special.
The fixture gained heat in the late 90s when Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson were managing their respective clubs. While Ferguson managed to win the treble with Manchester United, the years to come would see the London club rise as one of the best teams the Premier League has ever seen, eventually turning out to be the Invincibles that won the Premier League title without losing a game.
Few clubs could compare to Manchester United and Arsenal in 1996-2004 with both teams going at it much like Liverpool and Manchester City in the 21st century.
The matches between the two clubs often turned violent, and raucous reactions from fans only added fuel to the fire of the fixture that was indeed the battle of two of the greatest teams in the Premier League under their greatest ever managers.
The fixture gained even more weight when Manchester United became the ones to finally kill off the Arsenal Invincibles, albeit in controversial circumstances. United later went on to hand Arsenal one of their worst defeats ever, beating them 8-2 at the Old Trafford in 2011.
Arsenal have managed to win the fixture 85 times, while United have managed to get the better of the Gunners 97 times. The two teams have ended things on the pitch with scores level 52 times. Ryan Giggs has made the most number of appearances in the fixture, with 50. United legend Wayne Rooney has the most number of goals in the derby, with 12.
