I poked my nose at David Beckham and Man United in the Premier League's ultimate rivalry with star-studded Arsenal – it used to decide titles.
The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United may have faded, but Martin Keown insists they had the best battles of the Premier League era.
The Gunners and Red Devils meet for the first time this season in the Premier League on Wednesday, with both teams meeting under the lights at the Emirates.
Arsenal They are second in the league, nine points behind the leader. Liverpool. Meanwhile, Man United languish in ninth place, 15 points off the top.
Mikel Arteta's side have scored 13 goals in their last three games in all competitions, scoring five in the most recent two.
But with the new coach of the Red Devils Ruben Amorim Having secured two wins and a draw in their first three games in charge in all competitions, including a 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday, the Gunners should not rest on their laurels.
It's been a long time (over 16 years to be exact) since Arsenal and Man United went head to head for the Premier League title.
Keown played against Man United 32 times during his career, being the team that faced them the most times after Liverpool (36).
Their three Premier League titles came in 1998, 2002 and 2004, with Arsene Wenger's Gunners beating Sir Alex Ferguson's Man United on each occasion.
Apart from Blackburn in 1995, Arsenal were the only team to stop Man United's monopoly in the Premier League until 2005, when Chelsea intervened.
Keown played against some of Man United's most iconic players of the Fergie era, as well as starring alongside Arsenal legends themselves, including Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.
It was an era-defining rivalry and built a famous enemy in the former Man United striker. Ruud van Nistelrooyrecently joking that he would send him a copy of his book after his time as caretaker manager at Old Trafford.
Twelve years after his retirement, Keown's time playing in the Wenger-Ferguson derby is still etched in his mind, as are the characters he crossed paths with.
friendly enemy
Despite his spicy history with Van Nistelrooy, Keown got on well with other Red Devils players, particularly those he linked up with in England.
That includes David Beckhamwho won six Premier Leagues with Man United between 1996 and 2003. This despite the fact that Keown kicked him a lot in games.
“I think someone like David Beckham was someone who always looked very balanced, you know, aggressive on the pitch,” he told talkSPORT.
“I really don't think he gets enough credit for the quality he produced. And then off the court, you know, a very good kid.
“I didn't seem to have any real advantage over him or anything against me for kicking him down the field!”
Asked if he ever spoke to Man United players in the tunnel before games, he said: “I wasn't good at it. He always used to seem, you know, like he had no interest, trying to save energy, trying to make it look like he was being cool. I didn't want to be aggressive.
“I didn't want to waste nervous energy. But I always enjoyed getting out on the pitch, certainly with the variety of players Wenger brought together in those years.
“But I never cared who was watching.
“I wish now when I look back I could have smiled from time to time. I might have had some decent photographs to remember!”
Diabolical
Keown and Van Nistelrooy faced each other in the Battle of Old Trafford in 2003.
The defender was handed a hefty £20,000 fine for his role in the chaos following a controversial red card for Vieira. Arsenal felt that Van Nistelrooy had misled the referees with a theatrical display to send off Vieira.
But the Dutchman – who recently took charge of Leicester – is not the only one Keown had history with.
When asked who else he didn't like to face, he said: “I think (Teddy) Sheringham was someone I came across from a very young age. So we played against each other from the age of 17 and 18, when he was at Millwall as a kid.
“And probably because he got along better with Tony (Adams) and seemed to just exclude me. So it's okay.
“So it gave me that motivation. I respected him, of course. There will always be players you get along with and those you don't.
“It's just about having that respect for them, right?”
Man United featured some of the best players during the peak of their rivalry with Arsenal, to the point that Keown finds it difficult to pick which players were most serious about playing against the Gunners.
He said: “I spent time with the lads at the England meetings. You know, everyone was really fiercely competitive. Paul Scholes would kick Man United players as much as he would kick Arsenal players in training.
“You couldn't really focus on one player because they were all so good, right? So, you know, if you were just going to focus on Giggs, then Paul Scholes would probably make a run from deep. Van Nistlerooy would be the same.
“They always had four forwards. Which was always tricky when you looked on the sidelines. You know, will it be Dwight Yorke or (Andy) Cole or Sheringham, (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer?
“You know, most teams only had twos and fours. So, yeah, that would be your downfall if you really focused on just one player.”
The best of the best
In recent years, Arsenal have been competing with Manchester City for the Premier League title.
In the last two seasons, the Gunners have finished second behind local rivals Man United, while the Red Devils have finished third and then eighth.
Even though their rivalry is fading, Keown still believes it is the best rivalry the Premier League has seen since its inception in 1992/93.
“Is there a bigger one?” he said when asked where the rivalry stands in Premier League history.
“You know, I think if you think back then, you go back to the (Arsene) Wenger years. manchester unitedI think I had won, was it four of the first five Premier League?
“And all of a sudden, this Frenchman comes in, you know, to break their noses a little bit. What we did that season was win 10 games in a row to become champions.
“Manchester United were paid at Christmas. So that created real change. Some of the players that were hired, then you have the rivalries and the duels.
“You are playing against the same players. You have Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, two of the best midfielders we have ever seen face each other.
“That rivalry has disappeared a little bit.
“Manchester United are going through a big change, but I think Arsenal are ahead of them as Arteta has just turned five. That's always a great game.
“Of course, it was always significant. “You knew that if you got something against Man United, home and away, you had a good chance of being Premier League champions in that period.”
Man United will be without Kobbie Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez for this week's clash, with both stars suspended against Everton.
Arsenal's Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu were already injured before the weekend, and Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey also had to miss the 5-2 win over West Ham.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori were also sent off from the match, but all appear to be a precaution. calafiori bar.
But with or without the injury list, Arsenal will have to keep up with Liverpool, who face Newcastle on Wednesday.
“It's always a great game, Arsenal hosting Manchester United at the Emirates,” Keown said. “I'm always going to look for an Arsenal win, maybe a 2-0 win.”