While Louis van Gaal has expressed his irritation at being questioned about Ryan Giggs’ apparent lack of joy after Manchester United’s late winner at Newcastle, Arsène Wenger has admitted that he remains haunted by the goal that triggered the most famous celebrations of Giggs’ career. “I can still hear the shouts of their team having won,” lamented the Arsenal manager.
Giggs’ solo goal and swirling shirt celebration against Arsenal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay at Villa Park has become a classic moment in the competition’s history. It put United on the path to unprecedented glory and caused a pain that still smarts for Wenger. If Monday night’s FA Cup quarter-final between United and Arsenal at Old Trafford turns out to be as exciting as their 1999 duel, then we are in for another thriller.
Although they have had three more Cup defeats, Arsenal have beaten United twice in the competition since then, including in the 2005 final, but those victories have not made the memory of Giggs’s strike in 1999 any easier for Wenger to bear. It was the shock of it that really hurt. Arsenal had looked so dominant. United had been reduced to 10 men following the expulsion of Roy Keane for a second bookable offence and they were hanging on. Sir Alex Ferguson would later say his team “played in agony” but it was Arsenal who wound up suffering most.
It looked as if Wenger’s team would prevail when they won a penalty in the last minute of normal time but Peter Schmeichel saved Dennis Bergkamp’s spot-kick and in the 109th minute of an epic contest Giggs intercepted a weary Patrick Vieira pass inside his own half. He then slalomed his way past Lee Dixon and Martin Keown before firing past David Seaman and into the net. It was the run that led Ferguson to declare that Giggs “gives players twisted blood” and it left scars on Arsenal.
Not only did United go on to win the FA Cup but Wenger says it also gave them a vital edge in the Premier League title race. They eventually finished above Arsenal by a single point. And a week after the improbable triumph at Villa Park, United recovered from two goals down to beat Juventus in the Champions League semi-final and later staged another incredible comeback to beat Bayern Munich in the final. United did the Treble. Arsenal won nothing.
“Giggs’s goal was what decided their season,” said Wenger. “I think that goal won them the Treble because if Bergkamp scores I think the game is over. It was a trauma for us. Bergkamp never again wanted to take a penalty and it put them on the road [to the Treble]. I can still hear the shouts of their team having won, they couldn’t believe it because they were down to 10 men. And I think that put them on a wave of euphoria and then they won the title – just.”
Wenger remembers clearly how fine the margin was between United and Arsenal that season. It could have been his team celebrating a Double had they won at Villa Park and avoided defeat in their penultimate league game of the season to Leeds United, a match in which events seemed to conspire against them as dramatically as they went in favour of Ferguson’s side.
“They played [and drew] at Blackburn and we lost at Leeds in the last minute when Nigel Winterburn was kicked off and [Jimmy Floyd] Hasselbaink scored at the far post and [Kaba] Diawara hit the bar twice. After that they won the Champions League final in the last minutes – it was a miracle year for them.”
The stakes are only slightly lower for Monday night’s showdown. United and Arsenal may have little hope of winning the Premier League this season but the FA Cup is very much up for grabs and both teams are locked in an intense battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Losing at Old Trafford will obviously mean missing the first of those targets and could also have a knock-on effect on the scramble for the top four.
The grumbles from United fans about the style of play under Van Gaal may suggest that Arsenal go into the game as favourites, but Wenger notes that United seem to have retained their ability to win when not at their best. “They won sometimes with Fergie without being absolutely exceptional,” said a man who knows that all too well. “Our job is first of all about winning – and they do.”
Yes, they do. Especially against Arsenal at Old Trafford, where they have beaten Wenger’s team in nine of their last 10 meetings. Indeed, Arsenal have won only one of their last 15 matches against United anywhere and their 2-1 defeat at the Emirates in November gave Van Gaal his first competitive away victory as United manager. Arsenal may be the FA Cup holders but they have to provide more evidence that they, too, have the mentality to win no matter the circumstances.