Arsenal vs. Manchester United: 5 of their best Premier League encounters

#4 Manchester United 2-0 Arsenal – October 24th 2004

A teenage Wayne Rooney helped to shoot down Arsenal in 2004's 'Battle of the Buffet'

After 2003-04 saw ‘The Battle of Old Trafford’, the rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal somehow became even more bitter in the following season, as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side – inspired by birthday boy Wayne Rooney – finally ended the Gunners’ 49-match undefeated run by defeating them 2-0 in a match that became infamously known as ‘The Battle of the Buffet’.

The match was a somewhat scrappy affair, marked by a questionable performance from referee Mike Riley, who appeared to be struggling to keep control of the players on both sides; despite some poor challenges, only 5 players were booked during the match, with United’s Rio Ferdinand avoiding any kind of sanction altogether despite a professional foul on Freddie Ljungberg in the first half.

The game was eventually decided by Rooney – who turned 19 on the day of the match – when the England striker charged into the box and was brought down by Arsenal defender Sol Campbell. Riley awarded a penalty – despite Rooney appearing to go down easily – and Ruud Van Nistelrooy dispatched the spot-kick after his notorious miss a year beforehand.

The Gunners attempted to respond, but left gaps in their defence and with only added time remaining, Rooney finished off a counter-attack involving substitutes Louis Saha and Alan Smith to seal the three points – and bring Arsenal’s long undefeated streak to a crashing halt.

More infamy was heaped onto the match after the final whistle, though; tempers flared in the players’ tunnel with various confrontations, and eventually this erupted into a full-scale fracas, with football legend suggesting that Cesc Fabregas threw pizza at United boss Ferguson, who was then forced to change his outfit to carry out post-match media duties.

The ‘Battle of the Buffet’ sobriquet was added soon after, but despite the incident becoming part of Premier League folklore, it was Ferguson who had the last laugh; Arsenal were top of the table prior to this game, but the loss marked a downturn in form for the Gunners and they won just 1 of their following 5 matches, slipping behind Chelsea in the eventual title race.