The ‘Battle of Old Trafford’ between Man Utd and Arsenal happened 20 years ago | OneFootball

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Two decades ago to the day, the game famously known as the 'Battle of Old Trafford' took place between Manchester United and Arsenal. The Gunners travelled to the home of the champions in September 2003 as they looked to mount a title charge of their own in the 2003/04 campaign. As many football fans will know, that season went on to be one of the most memorable as Arsene Wenger led his side to an unbeaten league season, and they remain the only team to have accomplished this feat in the Premier League to this day, 20 years later. It could have been a completely different story had fortune gone against the Gunners on 21st September 2003 when Manchester United came closer than any other side to defeating the team that would go on to be 'Invincible'. A 0-0 scoreline does not go any way towards describing the events on the pitch as a fiercely contested match was played out in Manchester.

Wenger's team went into the game with a more physical approach than in other games, with Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg being brought in to replace the more technical Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires respectively. This suggests that the French manager was prepared for a tough and physical battle on the day. But where did all the animosity between the two clubs come from?

The history of Manchester United vs Arsenal

The sides had most previously met in April 2003, in a match that was also very tense and ill-tempered. Arsenal defender Sol Campbell was shown a straight red card for elbowing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the face. This game ended in a 2-2 draw between the sides, but probably did not help towards the bad blood that spilled over in the 'Battle of Old Trafford'.There was however, a much longer story behind the bad feeling between the clubs with even Sir Alex Ferguson's first encounter with the Gunners featuring controversy in 1987 with a red card for David Rocastle sparking a row between the sides.

A massive brawl occurred in a match between Arsenal and Manchester United more than a decade before the September 2003 fixture as Nigel Winterburn was kicked by both Brian McClair and Denis Irwin after Winterburn had mocked the former for missing a penalty two years beforehand. This was not the last time a penalty kick would be the source of a controversial moment in a meeting between the Gunners and the Red Devils.Tempers even flared in the Community Shield match between the two at the beginning of the 2003/04 season - in a game that is usually seen as a glorified friendly - as Campbell kicked out at a United player, and Francis Jeffers saw red for kicking Phil Neville. United emerged victorious through a penalty shoot-out, but that was far from the end of the story.There was a famous rivalry between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira as the two sides dominated the Premier League as the two teams shared 11 of the first 12 Premier League titles on offer - with only Blackburn Rovers breaking that trend. The two battling midfielders clashed in the tunnel before a game after Vieira had an altercation with Gary Neville prior to the game. Not only were both men incredible football players, they were also not to be messed with physically.

They were also two of the players involved in the famous battle to have taken place on this day 20 years ago, but just what did occur on that day?

'The Battle of Old Trafford' explained

A very competitive fixture between two top teams was locked in a stalemate despite several chances for Manchester United. The game reached it's 80th minute before things really kicked off. Vieira was sent off after reacting badly to a foul by Ruud van Nistelrooy - as the French midfielder swung his leg towards the Dutch forward with his studs showing - after initially being booked only moments prior. While there was no actual contact on the kick, the referee decided that the intent was there and the offence was worthy of a second booking for the Arsenal man, while van Nistelrooy also went into the book for his part in proceedings.The Gunners' backline held strong even with the disadvantage of being down to 10-men until the final minute of the game, when a Martin Keown foul on Diego Forlan saw the hosts awarded a penalty and the chance to put an end to Arsenal's unbeaten start to the campaign. Van Nistelrooy was the man to step up to take the spot kick - despite having missed his previous two - with all the pressure on his shoulders. The striker confidently struck the penalty with a lot of power, only for it to hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce away from goal.

This sparked the real battle between the two teams as Keown - who had given the penalty away - celebrated by screaming in the face of van Nistelrooy after he missed from 12-yards. As the final whistle went to confirm the points being shared, the English defender was once again in the face of his opponent as Keown jumped up behind van Nistelrooy before slamming his arms down on the back of the Dutchman. Other Arsenal players such as Ashley Cole, Parlour and Kolo Toure were also quick to get in his face as they felt he had got Vieira sent off unfairly. Keane got in quickly to escort his striker away from the melee while other United players began to pile in to spark a huge scuffle between the two sets of players.

Martin Keown still blames van Nistelrooy for scenes at Old Trafford

Speaking to talkSPORT in 2021, the former Arsenal defender said: “You have to go back all the way to Patrick Vieira being sent off," before adding: "Ruud van Nistelrooy feigns injury, you could say it was cheating, he goes down, and Patrick Vieira gets sent off."Keown then even disputed that the Dutch forward should have even had the chance to win the game in the late stages: “Then after that, it was like the Alamo, because they saw they had a chance to win the game. They had a penalty, which you could argue wasn’t a penalty, which I am involved in."The reason he felt was behind the Gunners finding themselves in the position to potentially lose was explained as:“Because he got one of our colleagues sent off."