Arsenal and Sheffield United's feisty rivalry revisited - "We had a few battles"
Arsenal's next Premier League outing sees them welcome Sheffield United to the Emirates in a clash that the home faithful will expect their side to win.
However, that hasn't always been the case every time the Gunners met the Blades. Sure, Arsenal tend to be the favourites each time the two meet, but followers of the north London giants will remember a period in the mid-2000s where travelling to Bramall Lane would often mean returning to the capital battered and bruised and occasionally without three points.
Between February 2005 and December 2006 the two clashed four times, during which time Arsene Wenger and Neil Warnock were at the helms of Arsenal and Sheffield United respectively. The first of those meetings came in the FA Cup, where a number of bone-crunching tackles left Wenger furious and added to the growing tension between the two teams.
Warnock may feel like Wenger had no right to complain, given it was his side who were reduced to 10 men after Dennis Bergkamp was red-carded for shoving Danny Cullip. The Dutchman was incensed after a late tackle on Cesc Fabregas sparked a melee between the two sets of players and it was the non-flying Dutchman picked out as the guiltiest party.
Around this time, Arsenal were perceived as a side beginning to show a soft underbelly, but there was nothing soft about the tackle from Fabregas on Nick Montgomery. Robert Pires looked to have won the game for the Gunners, but when Phillipe Senderos handled the ball inside his own area in the dying moments, Andy Gray stepped up to send the game to a replay.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
That second outing saw much of the same intensity, with spine-shuddering tackles flying in from every angle and even some penalty shoot-out drama. It was Arsenal who ran out triumphant from the spot, silencing what was an otherwise ferocious Bramall Lane on the night.
Just over a year later, with the Blades now in the Premier League, the two would face off again. Arsenal made light work of the first game at the newly-opened Emirates Stadium, but were in for quite the shock when they made the trip to south Yorkshire just after Christmas in 2006.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will come out on top on Saturday - Arsenal or Sheffield United? Comment below
Neil Warnock's Sheffield United put in some combative displays against Arsene Wenger's ArsenalWith the Gunners in a title race and Warnock's men battling relegation down in 17th, few gave the Blades much hope of springing a surprise. And yet, much to Wenger's dismay, that is exactly what they did. With the home faithful in full voice, Arsenal looked particularly rattled.
Sheffield United's goal came courtesy of Christian Nade and came just before half-time, but it was not Nade who would be the hero of the match. Centre-back Phil Jagielka spent more than 30 minutes between the sticks after goalkeeper Paddy Kenny limped out of action injured.
Remarkably, the defender-turned-goalkeeper managed to keep efforts from the likes of Julio Baptista and Robin van Persie at bay. Wenger could barely believe what he was witnessing and became increasingly agitated on the touchline.
"It was probably the proudest moment since I became a manager, with the crowd and the atmosphere," said Warnock after the game "We always put everything in. We won tackles, the goal was super and the crowd were brilliant. It was a great result."
Arsene Wenger cut a frustrated figure often against Neil Warnock's Sheffield United sideWenger's comments just about touched on the topics that frustrated him, but he remained in control of his emotions and simply claimed: "It was a very physical game and tricky because of the pitch but we battled hard and gave everything."
For all of their touchline tantrums against each other, the relationship between the two actually ended up rather strong. Warnock has spoken glowingly of Wenger in the years that followed. From placing him above Sir Alex Ferguson in his list of all-time greats to publicly empathising with the problems that plagued the Frenchman's latter years at Arsenal, the former Blades boss clearly holds no grudges.
Speaking in December of 2018, seven months after Wenger called time on his 22-year Gunners reign, Warnock told Goals on Sunday a story about the two of them that went down well with Arsenal fans.
Everton chiefs face transfer backlash from fans after deadline day disaster
"We had a few battles with Arsenal (at Sheffield United). I've told this story before," Warnock claimed. "My thousandth game was at the Emirates. The dugouts there are miles away, aren't they? And I'm looking, I'm in the centre circle with Arsene, he's a big lad, and I'm looking up at him.
"I said to him 'Arsene, look at the dugouts, they are miles apart, you'll never hear me today!' He looked at the dugout slowly then he looked down at me and said 'Neil, you will find a way!' I thought he was brilliant, Arsene, I did like him."
Whether there will be quite as much touchline tension between current bosses Mikel Arteta and Paul Heckingbottom when the sides meet this Saturday remains to be seen, but just shy of two decades on - the dynamic remains the same.
Arsenal know that with the title in mind, nothing less than a win will do, while Sheffield United are once again embroiled in a relegation battle. The Blades couldn't stun the Gunners again, could they?
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
