To this day, this is still one of my favourite games of all time and was so important to me as it was the one that made me truly fall in love with this club. It was the year that I first started watching football (2004) and the 04/05 season was the first full season that I watched.
I was just starting to understand football, United and the rivalry between us and Arsenal and the fact that they were invincible the previous season.
This was an important game as well because of the title race as Chelsea under 'The Special One' looked like they were running away with it so we had to win at Arsenal to keep our faint hopes alive.
This game also took place at the Gunner's former home Highbury which was one hell of a stadium. The atmosphere was incredible especially because it was all so tight. Yes, it may not have been as grand as The Emirates, but there was just something about it that made Highbury more special, something that I feel The Emirates has lacked since it's creation.
And that's what made this game even better, to do it at the great Highbury, the home of the invincible champions.
As this was a proper rivalry, things kicked off even before the start of the game as there was some heated action in the tunnel, which at Highbury, was quite tight. So tight in fact, that standing side-by-side was a bit un-doable. It felt as though they had to stand on top of each other's heads!
Players had to stand in an almost alternate-like fashion. One Arsenal player, one United player, all the way through.
Of course, Roy Keane was involved with old mate Patrick Vieira. Vieira bullied Gary Neville with some strong words because of the previous game at Old Trafford which is what kicked off all the action. Even the handshakes, or lack there of was proper box office. We don't get this type of action anymore. If you haven't seen it, go take a look.
The game itself didn't disappoint either.
Arsenal scored quite early on with Vieira (who else) giving them the lead 8 minutes in. We then hit back 10 minutes later with a Ryan Giggs effort that took a massive deflection off Ashley Cole which turned out to be an own goal in the end.
Dennis Bergkamp retook the lead for Arsenal which they held going into the break.
2-1.
The second half was absolutely magnificent, from a United point at least 😁.
We equalized not long after the restart with a certain 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo getting the second with the classic shhhhhh 🤫 celebration. The play for that goal was so good between the front line. A quick free-kick into Scholes, to Rooney, gives it Giggseh (lol) who then passes to Ronaldo and I liked the slight sort of delay to just control the ball and adjust himself before putting it in the inside of the side net with his left foot from quite a tight angle. Absolutely incredible.
A couple minutes later, it was 2-3, Cristiano with his second. A much easier finish this time as he just had to put the ball in into an empty net from just off the line. Giggs with the assist again. What the goalkeeper Almunia was doing, I don't know.
Mikael Silvestre decided to make things harder for us and easier for them as he got sent off with 20 minutes to go because of a confrontation with Bergkamp and then Freddie Ljunberg right in front of the referee. It was at this point that I'm thinking, "this is going to be difficult".
It was.
Arsenal obviously started dominating with the man advantage keeping us inside our own half for most of the remainder of the game. I was surprised at the lack of clear cut chances they created, probably because of our more robust defence now that Wes Brown came on for Ronaldo to make things tighter at the back.
A couple of minutes left to play. Left-back Gabriel Heinze makes a good run with the ball beating a couple of players on the left touchline before playing the ball in to Louis Saha, who passes it to Paul Scholes, who then plays such a cool yet beautiful pass with the outside of his right foot to an open John O'Shea of all people. What he did next was unbelievable.
O'Shea controls the ball with his right foot, has a look up and sees the 'keeper come off his line and then has the audacity to chip him with his left foot. It hits the back of the net. Absolute Scenes. What a goal John, what a goal! An incredible finish from the most unlikeliest of players.
Game over and we do the double over them. 2-4. I re-watch the highlights sometimes just for the memories.
This was an important night for me personally, in terms of why I started to support this great club. I know I missed most of the rivalry with Arsenal but I got a glimpse of it here, just before it could end.
I wish we could get back to that. What an incredible night. I can still remember celebrating when O'Shea's finish went in the back of the net. I was shocked and yet so, so happy.
What a match. What a rivalry, the best in Premier League history for me. It had absolutely everything. They don't make rivalries like this anymore. Although I hate Arsenal, hopefully we can see something like this sooner rather than later.
#FAVGAME #GUNNEDDOWN #GGMU #CMONUNITED