Morning all.
Man Utd come to town tomorrow for a Friday night FA Cup fixture. A first I think but the good thing is the Beeb are covering it so all those who refuse to line the pockets of Sky TV owners, can tune in.
There’s been many a cracking match between the two sides in this competition, the hardest loss to take was the Giggs one. To this day I don’t know why one of the many players who had the opportunity, didn’t stick him on his backside. A booking would have been worth it. Had Seaman stood tall, he might have stopped it too but the moment for us was gone when Dennis Bergkamp found the hand of Peter Schmeichel from twelve yards instead of the back of the net.
If that was hard for us Arsenal fans to take, the 2005 final must have been just as bad if not worse for the Utd fans. I loved it, after our final penalty had been scored of course. Until then, we’d been well and truly battered for 120 minutes. Jens Lehmann saving Scholes spot kick was the icing on the cake. Paddy firing home the winning one was just great.
But the best final between the two clubs in my lifetime took place on 12th May 1979 at Wembley. Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton had given us a 2-0 lead in the first half, a lead which we held on to for 85 minutes. We looked home and dry when less than a minute later, Gordon McQueen scored from a set-piece. I’m saying nowt! Two minutes later it was honours even after Sammy McIlroy breezed past two players to finish. Utd thought they’d secured extra time as it was called back then but their celebrations were short-lived as a Alan Sunderland popped up with the winner. The “Five-minute Final.” That proved to be the only trophy worth mentioning which Terry Neill won during his time at the club. He lasted another few years though before being sacked in 1983.
In March 2015 we travelled to Old Trafford for another semi-final, our second in as many years having won the big jug the previous year. We hadn’t beaten Utd on their own turf for a while so we weren’t favourites to do so on this occasion. Nacho Monreal opened the scoring on 25 mins, hoorah. Rooney equalised just minutes later, boo! Di Maria had a moment to forget when having just been booked, decided to tug the shirt of referee Michael Oliver. Red card.
I bet the media hated that match because on the hour mark, long before the their sending off, we’d scored a second. Thank you Danny Welbeck. Another final followed, another FA Cup in the trophy cabinet.
We’re the record holders in this competition and I’d really it to stay that way for a long time yet.
Here’s a look back at some of the ‘heated’ battles between the two sides..
Have a good Thursday guys..
Great stuff Rico.Ah yes the 79 final,fantastic memories.The first 85 minutes fairly routine,the game exploded in the last 5 minutes.Im looking forward to tonight.How great would it be if we are the first team to stop Ole.
In other news I see Giggs hasn’t lost his hatred of Arsenal,saying Ramsey will improve playing for a better team.H e is probably right though.
Thanks Limey. I loved the 05 for obvious reasons but sadly for the club, it was kind of the beginning of the end for Arsène Wenger.
I’d love us to stop Ole, I really would. I saw that too from Giggs. Time will tell eh, he might not even play much…
Good morning Rico,
Sorry to go off at a tangent, but I thought this summed up perfectly where we are with Brexit
David Cameron made a promise he didn’t think he’d have to keep to have a referendum he didn’t think he would lose. Boris Johnson decided to back the side he didn’t believe in because he didn’t think it would win. Then Gove, who said he wouldn’t run, did, and Boris who said he would run, said he wouldn’t, and Theresa May who didn’t vote for Brexit got the job of making it happen. She called the election she said she wouldn’t and lost the majority David Cameron hadn’t expected to win in the first place. She triggered Article 50 when we didn’t need to and said we would talk about trade at the same time as the divorce deal and the EU said they wouldn’t so we didn’t. People thought she wouldn’t get the divorce settled but she did, but only by agreeing to separate arrangements for Northern Ireland when she had promised the DUP she wouldn’t. Then the Cabinet agreed a deal but they hadn’t, and David Davis who was Brexit Secretary but wasn’t said it wasn’t what people had voted for and he couldn’t support what he had just supported and left. Boris Johnson who hadn’t left then wished that he had and did, but it was a bit late for that. Dominic Raab become the new Brexit secretary. People thought Theresa May wouldn’t get a withdrawal agreement negotiated, but once she had they wished that she hadn’t, because hardly anybody liked it whether they wanted to leave or not. Jacob Rees-Mogg kept threatening a vote of no confidence in her but not enough people were confident enough people would not have confidence in her to confidently call a no confidence vote. Dominic Raab said he hadn’t really been Brexit Secretary either and resigned, and somebody else took the job but it probably isn’t worth remembering who they are as they’re not really doing the job either as Olly Robbins is. Then she said she would call a vote and didn’t, that she wouldn’t release some legal advice but had to, that she would get some concessions but didn’t, and got cross that Juncker was calling her nebulous when he wasn’t but probably should have been. At some point Jacob Rees Mogg and others called a vote of no confidence in her, which she won by promising to leave, so she can stay. But they said she had really lost it and should go, at the same time as saying that people who voted Leave knew what they were voting for which they couldn’t possibly have because we still don’t know now, and that we should leave the vote to Leave vote alone but have no confidence in the no confidence vote which won by more. The government also argued in court against us being able to say we didn’t want to leave after all but it turned out we could. She named a date for the vote on her agreement which nobody expected to pass, while pretending that no deal which nobody wants is still possible (even though we know we can just say we are not leaving), and that we can’t have a second referendum because having a democratic vote is undemocratic. And of course as expected she loses. Some people are talking about a managed no-deal which is not a deal but is not no-deal either.
Thank goodness for strong and stable government.”
Back to football in a bit.
‘79, my earliest Arsenal memory.
The dads were all juicing up on amber nectar while we kids had a sleep.
We were awakened for kick off which was around 1am here I think, and most of us sat glued to the tv.
It was the only game of the year we could watch live so back then more Aussies knew who won the cup than they did the League.
Memories.
Morning Cicero.
71 for me Scott and the victory over Liverpool. I was very very young then though… 😂
You’re still a baby, Rico hahaha
Don’t Forget Rashford, when it comes to “ugly” Rico, he wreaked Holding’s season.
Best memory for me was my first ever match at Highbury, We won two nil against some Northern side, I can’t recall the name. 1950, I was seven.
What does that make you then Scott? 😜
Yes Cicero, that was a nasty one but just one of many. The ugly sisters on Reyes were dreadful.
Afternoon Gooners
Afternoon Rico, if I was Ramsey I’d be inclined to keep a close on Giggs when he’s anywhere near Aaron’s wife…
good memories but i’m not confident for tomorrow
A team of niggly snides are United and they’re still the same as they ever were.
What really pisses me off is the way in recent years that Arsenal have flopped against truly awful United teams, when we should be killing them.
That points to the lack of a killing instinct in our squad, Wenger turned us into a nice team that played tiki taka lite football, with no backbone.
Look at the way Man City killed Rotherham and then Burton, no messing about, destroyed them. Then compare the way we flopped a couple of years ago when Rashford made his debut in a terrible United team – and we still lost, total failure again.
Last season we steamrollered them at home and lost – couldn’t score – good goalkeeping by De Guey but no killer instinct.
Then this season at OT, we should have mullered them but in the end just held on for a draw after Hackney Marshes defending.
Hopeless United teams under Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho still had the upper hand over us psychologically because Wenger filled the squad with mentally weak players.
We still have a lot of them and there’s only so much Emery can do with them…
So that baby faced cheating old bag Ole brings his unbeaten record to the Emirates, now wouldnt it make a pleasant change if we went for their throat just as they would go for ours?
Rooney diving to win the penalty that ended our 49 unbeaten run is still fresh in the memory, Reyes getting the shit kicked out of him in the FACup SF whilst that cheating git Riley ignored it.
Campbell getting sent off at Highbury for sod all.
Too many painful memories…
We really owe them a good hiding, in fact we owe them for about the next 10 years and it still wouldn’t be enough…
No Ozil for me I’m afraid, this is a game where we can’t carry anyone.
Cech for Leno, AMN for Hector, then kill them…
That’s kill Man Utd, not Cech and Hector… 🙂
Afternoon all.
My first final, final was ’71. Watched it, in colour at a friend of a freind’s in Derby……long story!
Although my first ‘final’ was the League Cup v Swindon. I cried that day, it was very upsetting.
’79 was a nothing kind of game until the last 5-7 minutes and the wonderful Brady cross for Sunderland to side foot home. Oh yer! Owen winning the ears for Liverpool. What a sickener that was. We were a country mile better than the dippers that day. We was robbed. And finally ’05 and Vieira’s penalty what joy! We were crap that day but we won!!! And said goodbye to Paddy, that was a serious mistake a very serious mistake as was not giving him a job when he hung up his boots, but that’s Wenger for you.
The last three finals that we’ve appeared in I don’t think we were ever likely to lose, although we tried to, especially against Hull! The opposition weren’t up to much. Still it helped us passed manure’s record, so that was really the upside!
Tomorrow I wouldn’t like to call it. Oily will put out his strongest side, if only to try and keep the unbeaten run going. And it then may depend on whether we turn up or not! A draw wouldn’t surprise me.
Squirrel’s on my nuts! I shall have to go and remove him….rat with a furry tail. Not nice creatures.
Sun’s just come out, still cold though.
Afternoon Kev, good comment and spot on..
Painful Wavy? Lol
Cold on the south coast and dull. No sun today at all.
That final we lost to Liverpool was crazy, we should have been home and dry long before Owen woke up.
Another was our defeat of Southampton, 1-0 I think when Henry was fouled but didn’t make a fuss. The defender was Saints last defender if my memory serves me right but wasn’t sent off thanks to Henry probably..
Why we nor run for Cedric until the end of the season?
The Mclair Winterburn spat and the two points that mysteriously disappeared into a black hole somewhere near league headquarters . I think that’s what we were saying on the North Bank. Or maybe not. Things with United have always been nasty for many years we were the only southern side to challenge the Northern dominance. Back as far as Joe Baker and Dennis Law punching up in the centre circle.It’s different to Toots but the angst is there. Hope we stuff them
How different things may have turned out had Dennis gone left instead of right eh……..still wrangles !
As for Frank Stapleton, little did we know at the time but apparently he only swapped shirts at the end of Cup Final to satisfy his own curiosity…….tosser !
Tomorrow’s game is gonna be a tough call, the Manc’s look to have a new lease of life again while we’re stellar one week and shite the next, just gotta be happy with the home draw.
Evening all and thanks Rico.
On paper they should walk all over us, thank Dennis it`s on a pitch………..our pitch and with a noisy crowd who knows ? I will definately be hiding behind the sofa though ! 🙂
Glad I`m not bothered about the Cricket !
We’ve only really dominated them once in recent years-was it 3 up after 20 or so and that’s what it remained?
We were brilliant that day but it hasn’t happened nearly enough.
Seems Thierry is in massive trouble at Monaco.
Another one bites the dust!!
Another chance of the first ever trophy for Pochettino goes down the tubes. 😉
Torts bottle again
Totts
😆
From the horses mouth………….
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/1088550262191652864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1088550262191652864&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Farsenalarsenal.net%2F2019%2F01%2F24%2Fis-the-arsenal-man-united-rivalry-a-thing-of-the-past%2F
You sure you’ve got the right end of the horse Le Coq? 😉
New post up now..