The history of Arsenal and Manchester United’s rivalry is best explained by the frenetic late 1990s and early 2000s, but after all that is addressed, it is impossible to escape the earlier seeds of disgruntlement.
Just as Liverpool vs. Manchester United has some foundation in the cross-city rivalry, so United and Arsenal can also be partly explained due to London and Manchester being seen as cultural rivalries. Manchester and Liverpool might have the Beatles and Madchester to argue over, but London and Manchester has the late 80s to argue over as rave culture, dance and indie had their representatives from north and south, Manchester and London.
The rivalry was at its height when the pair of teams were looking to be the dominant side in England. Arsene Wenger’s technical brilliance was allied to on-pitch cynicism and brutality, from Nelson Vivas to Patrick Vieira to Thierry Henry. United were happy to look into the dark arts too, dismantling Jose Reyes along the way purely pour encourager les autres. Roy Keane eventually won a battle of wills against Vieira after he goaded Gary Neville in the tunnel ahead of a famous match at Highbury, that United won 4-2.
There were other brilliant matches. The high-wire tension of Sylvain Wiltord’s 1-0 match at Old Trafford to win the league, the end of Arsenal’s 49-match league unbeaten run, coming at the hands of a Wayne Rooney dive. Martin Keown screaming in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s post-penalty-miss face, and Ryan Giggs’ slaloming run in an FA Cup replay at Villa Park in 1999. Pizza, French-Japanese sophistication, red cards, and John O’Shea chips all make the rivalry sui generis.
However, the bitterness started before Wenger, before Henry, and before Keane.
On 20 October 1990, Manchester United welcomed Arsenal to Old Trafford in the 1990/91 First Division. Anders Limpar scored the only goal of the game, and in the second half it was Limpar who jostled with Denis Irwin for the ball, before the traditionally spiky Nigel Winterburn introduced himself to the contest with a heavy challenge.
That drew all 22 players into some jostling that lasted less than half a minute, and only Limpar and Winterburn were booked. Nevertheless, the sheer rage from both sides brought them point penalties (Arsenal two, United one), £50,0000 fines, and both clubs in turn fined their players for their behaviour. With many players still at both clubs still in the squads when Wenger took over at Arsenal, and with fans not keen to forget the slights, the aggression between the two clubs was simply made more febrile, and continues to burn bright to this day.
Arsenal vs. Manchester United head-to-head record
Manchester United lead in the head-to-head record between the two teams, with 99 wins to Arsenal's 87; the remaining 53 matches have finished as draws.
Manchester United trophy record
Manchester United have won a record 20 League titles, 12 FA Cups, six League Cups, and a record 21 FA Community Shields. They have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League three times, and the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup once each
Arsenal trophy record
Domestically, the club has won 19 League titles, eight FA Cups, a record nine League Cups and 16 FA Community Shields. In international competitions, the club has won six European Cups, three UEFA Cups, four UEFA Super Cups—all English records—and one FIFA Club World Cup.
Arsenal's biggest win against Manchester United
Arsenal 7-0 Manchester United, 30 January 1937
Manchester United's biggest win against Arsenal
Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal, 28 August 2011