The RIVALRY that DEFINED the Premier League: Sir Alex Ferguson & Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger, the quiet, intelligent Frenchman. Good afternoon. Two of the greatest club sides anywhere in the world. Well, this is defending into VAR. Wenger's had a swipe at Manchester United again today. He's pointing his A. You see up here, he's got one more. And he's hit the underside of the bar! Wenger and Ferguson have been asked by the football authorities to refrain from making inflammatory comments about each other. Between 1996 and 2004, Arsenal and Manchester United dominated the Premier League. The final whistle goes. Manchester United are the champions. Arsenal equal Manchester United, who won the trophy 11 times. Their supremacy was fuelled by a bitter feud between a Scotsman and a Frenchman. A clash of personalities, philosophies and egos that would define the narrative of the Premier League for the best part of a decade. Forever regarded as one of the games of any football season in England. Two of the most iconic managers in Premier League history. Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson. He has no experience of English football. He's come from Japan. Well, Arsene Wenger, welcome to the Premiership. The early years of the Premier League had been dominated by Manchester United and their formidable manager, Alex Ferguson. And break! The Scot had overcome a difficult start to life at the club to end a 26-year wait for a championship. When he guided his young side to the inaugural Premier League title in 1993. The party can begin. It's the Manchester United Premier League Championship season. While Ferguson was building his Mancunian empire, Arsenal was stuck in a transitional phase. Something had to change. And Arsenal vice-chairman David Deane made a surprise suggestion. His pick for the top job was Arsene Wenger, an intellectual Frenchman who had spent the previous season working in Japan as manager of Nagoya Grampus. Good afternoon. The Premier League has since been influenced by an array of talented and visionary coaches from around the world. But in 1996, Wenger was a true anomaly. He seemed, from some fans, to be plucked from complete obscurity. Put our minds at rest. What is the Arsene Wenger style of football? What do you want from your side? The Evening Standard newspaper led with the infamous Arsene Who headline after he was appointed as Arsenal's manager on September 22nd, 1996. The big story here today is that Arsene Wenger starts out in charge of Arsenal. Despite the widespread cynicism, Wenger was about to revolutionise one of the biggest jobs in the game. And anything appears possible for the new boss, Arsene Wenger. Even the possibility of a championship bid. Wenger wasted little time implementing a new philosophy. His time in Japan had convinced him of the importance of a healthy diet. And he immediately imposed restrictions on what players could eat, as well as introducing groundbreaking sports science. With intensive training sessions focusing on fitness. But the benefits soon became evident. The Gunners went unbeaten in their first six games under Wenger. In November, Wenger and Ferguson came face to face for the first time. The game was far from a classic. But the 1-0 victory for Manchester United served as a reminder to the ambitious Frenchman of just who ruled the roost in the Premier League. But Ferguson could see the threat that was building. And a bad-tempered clash at Highbury in their second meeting that campaign showed an intense rivalry was starting to brew, as United won once more. As the season drew to a close, Arsenal had narrowed the gap to United at the top of the table to just three points. And Wenger's comments about perceived favouritism towards the reigning champions had put the Scotsman in a combative mood. He's now telling everybody in England how to organise their football. And once you've had the experience, then I think he should keep his mouth shut. Firmly shut. United managed to hold off the Gunners' late surge to secure back-to-back Premier League titles. Manchester United are the champions of the Premier League. But Wenger had proved his credentials and could now firmly focus on exacting revenge the following season. Wenger had an Arsenal side built in his image. A formidable English back four led by captain Tony Adams. Both teams have made a tremendous start to the new season. Worked in unison with the continental attacking talents of Dennis Bergkamp, Nicolas Anelka and Marc Overmars. It is 2-0 to Arsenal. It was the Dutch winger who would score the defining goal of their season as Arsenal earned their first ever Premier League win at Old Trafford. Overmars, maybe this time. Alec, you've had better mornings, haven't you? Yeah, it's been a bad one. A stellar end to the season saw Arsenal storm to their first league title in seven years. They will think they have died and gone to heaven. And further success in the FA Cup meant that Wenger had completed a famous double. He has proved himself a winner. And the balance of power had shifted. Turning point when we won at Man Utd, we started to believe again we can make it if we win our games. After that, the team never gave up. The gauntlet had been thrown down and Ferguson never one to back away from a challenge would respond with vigour. And that is why Alex Ferguson rates him so very highly. He would lead his United side to one of the greatest achievements in world football over the course of the 98-99 season, as they secured an historic treble. Manchester United are number one. Though that campaign is best remembered for their iconic Champions League final comeback against Bayern Munich, no less dramatic was their route to the Premier League title. An Andrew Cole goal sealed a comeback victory against Arsenal's local rivals Spurs. Andy Cole! As United pipped the Gunners to the title by just a single point. They've been fantastic challengers to us. It's been a heck of a time. Last year, this year, a point between the two sides. Well, he's always smiling, but the smile is becoming broader and broader from Dwight York. And United's dominance seemed to have been re-established. Ferguson made smart additions to the squad, which drove them to win three Premier League titles in a row, leaving Wenger's Arsenal, runners-up each time, in desperate search of a way to beat Ferguson's winning machine. It's Pérez. Oh, what a goal! Robert Pérez! The code in 2002, as classy midfielder Robert Pérez arrived and proved the perfect foil to winger-turned-centre-forward Thierry Henry, who was emerging as one of the league's finest players. Scores his first for Arsenal! The title-deciding moment could not have been sweeter for Wenger, with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford confirming the Gunners as champions once again. Arsenal, runners-up for the last three seasons, are champions this time. And so the rivalry continued. Now firmly cemented as the league's two best managers, Wenger and Ferguson's very real dislike of each other was about to reach new heights. The 2003-2004 campaign is the stuff of legend, as Wenger's side went a full season without defeat to give him his third Premier League title in unprecedented fashion. They are unbeaten in history, men. To improve is an attitude you have. No, you don't have. And these players want always to get better. The team is hungry for more. The target is now to get it out of the team next year. But the record-breaking achievement came very close to stalling in its infancy when the Gunners faced Manchester United in September in a game that was dubbed the Battle of Old Trafford. The trouble started when Patrick Vieira took issue with a challenge from United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Now what has happened here? And it's all kicking off here suddenly. And the referee's going to have to keep the lid on this. There was a brawl back here in 1990. Lehmann had got into a tangle with van Nistelrooy and done something there. And it's Vieira who's going to be sent off here. I thought for a minute he'd sent off Lehmann. He sent off Vieira. Ten-man Arsenal felt aggrieved at the loss of their captain and tensions only rose when referee Steve Bennett awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the match. But it's Ruud van Nistelrooy to win it for Manchester United if he can. And he's hit the underside of the bar and he's missed again. Amazing. The ugly scenes that followed came to be the defining image of the match with Arsenal's players mobbing the Dutchman whom they held responsible for Vieira's red card. Watching from the touchline, Wenger and Ferguson had very different readings of the situation. I think van Nistelrooy doesn't help. His attitude is always looking for provocation and diving and he looks a nice boy but I think on the pitch he's not always a fair behaviour. As far as I'm concerned, I can defend Ruud van Nistelrooy. I've heard Arsenal's comments in the interview that I'm really disappointed to hear that because Ruud van Nistelrooy had a foul on Patrick Vieira and Ruud has not dived. He's tried to get out of the road. He's looked at the referee. What kind of behaviour is this? The referee was no option. He had no alternative. The fallout spelled bad news for Arsenal as the Gunners lost four players for a total of nine matches. A serious blow at such an early stage in the season. Miraculously though, Wenger was able to utilise his squad's depth of talent and steered his side to an historic title without a single loss to their name. One year on from the Battle of Old Trafford came the Battle of the Buffet. Arsenal were back in Manchester with their unbeaten record of 49 games still intact. As the two super heavyweights meet. Another hot-tempered match had a sense of déjà vu for Arsenal fans as a Sol Campbell foul on Wayne Rooney saw Ruud van Nistelrooy once again step up to the penalty spot. Van Nistelrooy! Rooney's 90th minute goal confirmed the end of what remains the longest unbeaten streak in Premier League history. Arsenal are balled up! The Gunners didn't take the result well. A confrontation in the tunnel at full time that resulted in Sir Alex being hit in the face by a slice of pizza flung from the Arsenal dressing room by teenage midfielder Cesc Fabregas. And the tunnel was a battleground again for the reverse fixture that season as club captains Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira exchanged angry words before taking to the pitch. But neither team would win the title that season. As the forces of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City grew in prominence the intensity of the rivalry between Wenger and Ferguson began to thaw as they became allies against new threats to their power. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea raised the bar but Ferguson responded again bouncing back to win another three consecutive titles between 2006 and 2009. It's Manchester United's title yet again! And Old Trafford celebrates like it hasn't celebrated in the last ten years. Wenger's side struggled to keep pace with their old foes. United's 8-2 dismantling of the Gunners in 2011 was celebrated wildly by the Old Trafford faithful. They're just unstoppable in this form. Brilliant and brutal. But Sir Alex Ferguson expressed a certain sadness at what appeared to be the end of a great rivalry. Was it almost difficult for you to enjoy because you have empathy with Arsene Wenger? Yeah, I think it's unfair with the criticism of the man. I think that the job he's done for us over such a long period and maybe people forget these things. But that didn't mean they lost any of their competitive edge when their two sides met. He's kicked a water bottle away. A misery for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger is sent off. Well, this is defending into fart. That's as far as I can go, he's saying. What more do you want me to do? They wanted it out. Ferguson and Wenger's last competitive meeting came in April 2013, 17 years on from their first. Reluctant or heartfelt, one great football club pays tribute to another. Ferguson retired from management at the end of that season with United champions again. The great showman is about to bow out at the top. The rivalry was given the perfect ending when Wenger was greeted with a standing ovation during his last game at Old Trafford in April 2018. Has Arsene Wenger so integral to the devilish dynamic of this crackling rivalry? The Frenchman was visibly moved by the display, with his old nemesis on hand to present him with a surprise gift. The two legends embraced and brought to a conclusion the greatest Premier League managerial rivalry of all time.