God I used to hate Arsenal. I’m sure it was real hatred. My feelings for Liverpool are something entirely different but I really did hate Arsenal. I hated Wenger. I hated Pires. I hated Henry. I hated Adams. I hated Keown. I hated Lee “bitter blue” Dixon. I hated Vieira. I hated Ljungberg. I hated Bergkamp. I hated Ashley Cole. They were a bunch of ‘orrible cunts and losing to them was painful.
I hated their fans. So smug and full of themselves.
I hated that they stopped us winning stuff. I hated that.
This was written in 2004 and it just about sums it up:
Choose overbearing arrogance. Choose systematic dirty play and calling it “competitiveness”. Choose the most staged, contrived, up-your-own-arses goal celebrations ever witnessed. Choose winning two championships in eleven seasons and acting like you’ve won seven in nine. Choose paying £9 million for Francis Jeffers. Choose Dennis Bergkamp and his carefully-timed elbows into the side of the head. Choose fancying yourselves as better than Real Madrid, then having Chelsea run rings around you at home. Choose turning the sports section of The Observer into a gunners fanzine. Choose getting away with light or delayed punishments at FA disciplinary hearings because you’ve had every possible string pulled by David Dein. Choose embarrassing yourselves in a Renault “va-va-voom” ad and then disgracing yourselves further at the World Cup finals. Choose David Seaman and his public mid-life crisis. Choose watching an opponent miss a last-minute penalty against you, then running after him and jeering him. Choose George Graham grinding his way to the dullest Championship win of all time. Choose picking Ray Parlour for over a decade. Choose having the quietest stadium in the world (“The Library”) as your home ground, and then having the cheek to slag off Old Trafford. Choose having Nick Hornby and Piers Morgan as the mouthpiece of your supporters. Choose pretending that five or six years of playing in a watchable fashion makes up for inflicting over a century of ultra-defensive dogshit on English football watchers. Choose Igor Stepanovs, Nelson Vivas, Kanu, Pascal Cygan, Davor Suker, Gilles Grimandi, David Grondin, Remi Garde, Kaba Diawara, Junichi Inamoto, Jeremie Aliadiere, Oleg Luzhny, Luis Boa Morte, Richard Wright, Stefan Malz, Christopher Wreh, and all the other turkeys that nobody ever mentions when creaming themselves about how great Wenger is in the transfer market. Choose 58 red cards in seven years. Choose bottling the Treble despite having all the luck in the world. Choose Arsenal.
The height of my hatred for them came after we ended their unbeaten run. Their fans threw their dummy out big time, their players were even worse. Throwing fucking pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson? It’s disgusting and I would be thoroughly ashamed if our players had behaved in the same way.
United went 1-0 up in that game thanks to a dodgy decision given by Mike Riley. A few minutes later, Ashley Cole brought down Cristiano Ronaldo in the penalty area, something even the BBC noted warranted a penalty, yet this was completely forgotten. The second goal we scored was also forgotten. The fact Arsenal had one shot on target in 90 minutes was also forgotten. The fact that Arsenal committed more fouls that day was also forgotten. It was all about the penalty.
Even looking at Chelsea and Liverpool now, there are fewer things that I hate. I think Rafael Benitez is a twat but he doesn’t evoke the anger Wenger did. I think Frank Lampard, John Terry, Steven Gerrard (and still Ashley Cole), Didier Drogba and Jaavier Mascherano are twats, but I still don’t feel anything near the hatred for them that I did that chimp Keown.
Like Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned today, Arsenal are the only team that have been around competing for a large chunk of the time United have been successful in the past couple of decades. Blackburn, Newcastle came and went, Chelsea came in to the picture, and now Liverpool. Whilst Arsenal haven’t been competing for the title every season in that time, they’ve been there or there abouts and have been the only team to deny us Premiership titles consistently.
Now that they aren’t threatening us for titles, it’s easier to see the positive elements of Arsenal. The feelings between the clubs and the managers seem to have mellowed. I can appreciate the style of football they play, always on the attack, like us. I can appreciate their desire to bring through youth players, giving them a chance before other clubs would, like us.
With the club dealing with their new position, fourth place, a positive effect has been had on the fans. There are still plenty of the typical arrogant gooners knocking about but generally they’ve calmed down. They’ve had to. They’ve been made to be more humble thanks to the lack of trophies Wenger has been bringing in.
But with a place in history up for grabs over the next few weeks, I can’t help but think these negative feelings will start creeping in again tonight. All it takes is for one debateable decision, like Palacios not getting sent off at the weekend, and we’ll be right back to where we started, pretty much!
So, here’s to a good game of football, without the anger and frustration United vs Arsenal games have so often inspired, but most importantly, ending with a United win!
Man Utd News 24/7
WE JUST NEED TO KNOW UNITED AND ARSENAL ARE 2 TOP TEAMS AND DESERVE RESPECT
B E L I E V E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n-G5Dn2X8w
i hated them and still do. its strange. i know i should be hating the scousers more but these london cunts rubbed me the wrong way too many times. i still remember that rvn penalty miss and the arsenal cunts reaction, my hatred for anything football related reached a pinnacle there.
I still hate that wanker Wenger and most of their team. Walcott is a faggot, Toure, Rapist Van P, Nasri is a smug little cunt, Bendtner is a mongo, Vela has swine flu. Loads of reasons to hate them even though they don’t win things anymore. I don’t mind their fans so much, they certainley aren’t as deluded as the scousers.
I don’t hate them half as much as I used to. I enjoy watching their football, and the Arsenal fans I know are respectable enough to have good footballing conversations with. Yes, they havn’t won anything for a few years, but I still think that Wenger is a better manager than Mourinho and FSW. Wenger and Sir Alex have both spoken of better relationships in recent years, and I think that this is because of the competition by Chelsea and Liverpool.
United and Arsenal have common enemies, and therefore can support eachothers arguments. Yes the rivalry was fierce in the past, but I’m sure there is now a mutual respect of two teams that have competed for the Countries top domestic competition without spending money that they havn’t earned.
All you have to do is see the past comments made by the two managers to see how much their relationship has changed. See today’s picks of the day, you wouldn’t expect to hear such comments today.
To be honest, with the football Arsenal have played recently, I can see them, no I EXPECT them to be our biggest rivals next year. Especially with the likes of Gallas, Rosicky and Eduardo being injured, and Arshavin settling in to the team.
It is only recently that I get to understand how deep is the hatred between United and Liverpool fans, here in Sierra Leone, our greatest rivals are always seen as Arsenal. This is largely due though to the timimg of the exposure of the game in this part of the world. The premier League in particular became popular here around 2001 when as a result of the deployment of some Bristish army soldiers, we were able to tune to a certain TV station called BFBS and was also able to listen to a certain radio station called Five live.
By then, it was United and Arsenal that were competing for trophies. Some United fans here can’t stand Arsenal no matter what! Infact they prefer Liverpool or City any day. I remember during Arsenal’s laughable unbeaten run, people fighting over Henry and Ruud who was better. When u entered a public transport the driver would ask whether you are Arsenal or manchester. If you are lucky to an extent that you and the driver are supporting the same team, he would not collect a dine from you. Infact some people only knew Arsenal and Manchester United.
Today if you don’t have supersport at home to view the match, you would have to get to the Cinema at leat an hour before kick off or u will not have a place to sit. There are arguements all over the Country about the game; in the streets, offices, public transport all over! It is the game that attracts the biggest attention in the country!
I just can’t imagine us fucking up tonite, I will not come to work tomorrow!! God forbid!!!!!
That thing youve dug up from 2004 is very ironic, interesting youve bought it up. A lot of those points can be turned on their head and directed against your own club. We have been forced to be humble but you write as though Arsenal are out of the frame forever.
I hate to say it, I used to have the same vitriol directed towards Arsenal that you obviously had, but it was more because of their smug fans than the players themselves… you summed it up nicely with their attitude after winning two, compared to our decade of dominance…
My hatred is reserved for the dippers and citeh now…
http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/jafsfsafafaas.gif
I used to really hate Arsenal but as the days of Keane and Viera are behind us I see an Arsenal side playing some really attractive football. Fergie and Wenger have calmed down as has the intense rivalry. Those days are over.
I remember the 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
I remember the 4-2 win at Highbury the following season.
Is was great stuff!
In the end I have admiration for Wenger and his philosophy of attractive football. In contrast Chelsea play hyper efficient football.
I like to think United play a mixture of the 2. Winning football.
nice to hear that cherry
Jonny
Aresenal have been out of the frame not forever but for the last 4/5 years.
Piers Morgan is the epitomy of an Arsenal supporter, smug bastard.
Ye carry on like ye invented football, I must admit sometimes you are very pleasing on the eye, but other times this myth about Arsenal and Wenger is blown open..
Only Wenger could be under no pressure to ever win a trophy, he is in a comfort zone…
Once Cesc leaves this summer after another trophyless season ye will be rightly fucked. Ye are a glorified feeder club and dont gimme that rubbish that Wenger keep finding gems, the proof is in the pudding and ye have won fuck all… Long may it continue
Piers Morgan is a twat. You will have no trouble finding Arsenal supporters who agree, he is not representative of the majority of our fans. I’m not smug, I admit i don’t have much to be smug about right now in terms of trophies. Wenger is in a comfort zone because he is a great manager and the board are not stupid enough to believe that pushing him out is the best option. Wenger isn’t willing to panic buy 32 million pound strikers or spend 17 million on shitpiece unproven wingers like United, he picks out longer term solutions on the whole who will bring success, maybe not straight away, but in time. Maybe if Ferguson would consider such options more often you wouldn’t be in such debt.
are not aresenal in debt also??? finding it hard to shift those apartments where highbury used be?? and that manky library the emirates needs to be paid for.. i think so.. and the difference being manchester united and arsenal is that united are in a different stratosphere when it comes to fans worldwide and size of the club.. the debt will be serviced.. and what success has he brought in time?? ye are bottlers, everytime you go up in a big game you lose.. carling cup last year, fa cup semi final this year.
the reason wenger doesnt spend is because ye dont have it, he just stays onside of the board claiming he doesnt like to shell out on big money players
Man alive….I remember reading an arsenal match report in about 2005 and the tart who wrote it made Henry winning a throw-in sound like he’d just invented art or something.
With his packet of sweets and his cheeky smile Arsene is a fucking………
Too right magichat, Wenger is sitting in a cosy job for life and enjoying the lack of pressure. All the talk of him un-earthing hidden gems is a total myth, cesc was the golden boy of Barca’s youth team not some rough diamond plucked from obscurity. Some of his big money signings have been comical at best, so even if he had money he’d be better off keeping it in his pocket. Remember how he gloated about how much money he makes the club as a response to a question about not winning trophies? That says it all really, the Gooners are happy with big comfy seats in the emirates and no trophies.
I’ve really only become obsessed with United since visiting a friend in Manchester in the 07/08 season and being taken to OT. I’m really just starting to learn about the hatred for the other clubs ( other than the obvious). I really haven’t seen the gooners as that bad, but after hearing about RVN it gets me going. Fuck Arsenal
@Jonny
All the talk about Arsenal getting success in time – please write here in this blog when you have finally won something. There is no point talking about the future when the future never comes. That is just like the dippers who constantly yearn for the past.
And don’t mention about the FA Cup final in 2005. That was four years ago. And you didn’t deserve that.
Does this mean that you finally forgive them cunts, Scotty….. cos I hate the bastards even more than I hate the fucking dippers and the rent boys, A complete and utter asshole of a club with overated players with an asshole appreciating manager. The only difference between then and now is that Arsole Wanker finally realizes that he hasn’t the resources to compete with us. That’s why his face, on match days, looks like he has chewing a fucking wasp.
lmaooo great post
that added section is rubbish,anyone who adds christopher wreh to a flop list knows nothing about football, u dont cost nothing an score in 5 1-0 wins and an f.a cup semi final winner in a double winning season an go down as a flop
keanes magic hat its a different type of debt,not a billion pound backed up against future ticket sales
I don’t hate Arsenal… If they beat us tonight, I’d hope to see them win the Champions League…
…if they didn’t Fabregas would leave and that would be rubbish for the premiership.
wow! I got angry at all the thoughts of the Arsenal of a few seasons ago, I fucking hated France at the time I hated Arsenal, when Greece beat them in Euro 04 I fucking cheered as though we fucking won it, that’s how much I hated Arsenal, I still dislike the French but I don’t mind them nor Arsenal as much now. You’re right, I don’t dislike Leeds, Liverpool, Chelsea etc… as much as I disliked Arsenal back then, to date, they’ve been my most hated team.
Anyone who calls Wenger’s ‘gems’ a myth is uneducated on the subject. He, like every other manager has made some dodgy signings, but he’s responsible for bringing some of the world’s best players to England. Henry and Vieira were average at best in their short times in Milan, Wenger saw their potential and signed them. Fabergas was bought for a song, Gael Clichy was plucked from the French 3rd Division, and Kolo Toure came from a club in the Ivory Coast. Ever heard of George Weah? Wenger signed him from Liberia when he was manager of Monaco. The reason Wenger is secure in his job is because of these signings and the success he has acheived. And the debt is totally different between our clubs. Your board unloaded £800 million of debt onto your club. If you’re not out there winning the trophies, you can’t pay this off and then you’re in real trouble. At Arsenal we are not so precarious.
i’ve never been more pumped up for a game as much as the 49 match unbeaten run ending game…not even tonight…oh well…theres some time yet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snNtsc9lyzw&eurl=http://www.facebook.com/home.php%3Fref%3Dhome&feature=player_embedded
Viera being signed from AC Milan who are hardly some backwater team, he would of been known all around Europe. Henry was bought for 10million in 1999 from Juve again not much digging needed to be done as he was also known all over Europe. Two great signings but they’re a long way from being red raw youngsters they’re coming from two of the biggest teams in the world. Clichy and Toure wouldn’t get near our team although they are fairly decent.
Vieira played 4 times for Milan and they shipped him out because they considered him a flop. Inter played Henry on the left wing, and he only made 16 appearances. Neither of them were considered top class players- thats down to Wenger. Clichy is one of the best left backs in Europe, and on form Toure is one of the best centre backs. You should consider yourself fucking lucky Clichy won’t be there tonight to terrorise O’Shea or whichever dodgy RB you play.
Literally just ran into a gunners fan about 10 minutes ago on campus here at UGA… he didn’t seem to confident when I mentioned cup-tied Arshavin and April 14, 1999.
You might change your tune come the summer time when Wenger announces his big name summer signing is our defensive stalwart John O’Shea. If he’ll sign that dunce Silvestre I’m sure we can talk him into taking JOS.
Frees up some funds to pay off the 17 million you gave Lisbon for Nani eh.
“Inter played Henry on the left wing”
Er he played for Juve.
oh yeah, woops
I used to really hate the arsenal team, keown henry pires and ljungberg especially oh and cashley cole. but ive never really hated the fans well definatly never as much as the likes of liverpool/city/leeds dont get me wrong there used to be a feirce rivalry but it was more because we were both challanging for trophies/ our managers players really hated each other. arsenal fans arent deluded and arent bitter so ive never really had a personal hate for them i just enjoy the rivalry of sucess.
All that said i hope we beat them
This is the best post of the year on any football site, by far. Scott the Red -what a treat to read. Will be rooting for United from Johannesburg tonight.
We’re going to recoup the Nani transfer fund by sticking him in the gallows outside Old Trafford and charging people to do their worst with a cat o nine tails. Fancy a lash? It’ll only cost a tenner.
I can pinpoint the exact moment my hatred for Arsenal began……Saturday February 20 1988. FA Cup 5th Round at Highbury.
Brian McClair misses a penalty and that horrible, smug, sneering little cunt Nigel Winterburn taunts him like fuck. McClair, along with Big Norm, was my favourite United player in that team and i never forgot that. There have been plenty of reasons since to carry on disliking them. Especially the RVN penalty miss.
My hate for them is not as intense as it used to be, but that might well change in the next eight days………
Winterburn only did that because McClair kicked the shit out of David Rocastle at OT that season, and in the end Rocky got wrongly sent off. McClair taunted him in the same way as he left the field.
I love it when that prick Winerburn was giving Di Canio stick when he was sent off against Arsenal after he pushed the ref, the Italian turned at Winterburn and I could here him shit myself from here, twat.
Stephen Said,April 29th, 2009 @16:49
I love it when that prick Winerburn was giving Di Canio stick when he was sent off against Arsenal after he pushed the ref, the Italian turned at Winterburn and I could here him shit myself from here, twat.
I was just thinking about that too and then you post it mate!
He was giving Di Canio a load of gob and when Paolo turned round and looked like he was gonna lump him one, the look of terror on his face was a picture!
I hated Winterburn. And that ugly ape Keown.
Jonny Said,April 29th, 2009 @16:46
…”Winterburn only did that because McClair kicked the shit out of David Rocastle at OT that season, and in the end Rocky got wrongly sent off. McClair taunted him in the same way as he left the field.”….
An Arsenal player sent off????!!!!! Now aint that something new!!
So whats the excuse for the abuse RVN suffered after his penalty miss then?
The only thing better than him shitting himself was when they played it back to him on BBC years later. He was truely humiliated and you could see he was disgusted that they’d used the clip.
Thats simple enough, van Nistelrooy attempts to stamp on Patrick Vieira, then overreacts to Vieira’s swipe and gets him sent off. Everyone at Arsenal hated van Horseface.
I fucking hate Arsenal.
Jonny Said,April 29th, 2009 @17:13
…”Thats simple enough, van Nistelrooy attempts to stamp on Patrick Vieira, then overreacts to Vieira’s swipe and gets him sent off. Everyone at Arsenal hated van Horseface.”….
Another sending off for Arsenal??????!
There’s a pattern emerging here………
Its quitting time!
Can’t fucking wait for the game.
You’re not honestly trying to argue Arsenal are a violent club are you? Rooney gets away with murder, almost literally, every other week, Ronaldo lashes out at opponents and your former captain attempts to cripple a fellow professional in a petty revenge attack. Eric Cantona, Alan Smith, Roy Keane and Andy Cole are 4 of the most red carded players in Premier League history. In this day and age, United are the worst offenders.
smithy99-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TFVuHrwgyY
Van HorseFace.!!
ROFLMAOooo!
Interesting this ‘hatred’ thing. I used to have similar feelings about United at one point, however I guess I have just mellowed and learnt to have more perspective. I dunno what it is but the hatred is no longer there. However when we beat you the joyous feelings are still the same as ever, maybe it is the emergence of Chelsea and they way they bought success. I remember being up in Manchester for work a few years back when you lot got the title back off them and I was cheering for you (something that was inconceivable a few years before).
My hatred was at it’s worst after you knocked us out of the semi final in 99 (despite our loss I still consider that to be one of the best games I’ve ever watched) and right up until you got to the final against Bayern I wanted you to lose. In fact right up until the 80th minute I wanted you to lose. Then I thought about how good you had been that season (and that season I think WE were better than our double winning side the season before) and felt sad that you weren’t gonna do it. Then Sheringham and Solskjaer popped up and won it in an incredible way and I was genuinely thrilled about it.
Anyway I guess I appreciate the football and sometimes in the heat of the moment I can really, really hate a team….like when we get a tonking. If I had to pick one team I don’t like, it’s Chelsea and that’s because of what they represent more than anything. Not Spurs, not United, not Liverpool.
I’m glad Fergie and Wenger are behaving like gentleman leading up to this game ( it may change after!!!) and I think the fans have responded to that.
There’s passionate, passionate rivalry and there is hatred, two separate things. For me there is no room for hatred in football, life’s too short.
Having said that, if we beat you over these two legs I’ll absolutely delighted and if we lose I will be as gutted as ’99. Here’s to a potential classic
How couldn’t you hate them when they beat you 1-0 at OT 06-07 ? 2-1 with the 2 goals in the end of the game (last one scored by our favorite player of all time Henry) at the Emirates 06-07? How couldn’t you hate them when they equalize in the added time and make it 2-2 in 2008 at Emirates when they were at the top of the table and make a fuss out of it ? How couldn’t you hate them when people call their football the most attractive football in the Premiership ? How couldn’t you hate them when the whole world says that Wenger is the greatest manager who discovers the talent and brings up teenagers who eventually become superstars ?
Yes, after all of this moments i hate them.. It’s so simple and Scott summed it all up to perfection.
Your feelings mellowed ? Doesnt look like given that you have a pop at us every now and then despite nothing having to do with Man U (e.g. Fabregas spitting allegation).
Its the perceived injustice that both sets of supporters feel. You think we get away lightly with FA and we think you have the refs in your pockets. Provocation has been equal in both directions and the media have had a feast on those.
But yeah, it would just take one more of that sense of perceived injustice to bring that hatred boiling through again. Lets see who comes with a shit eating grin on this forum tomorrow.
Gooner77
i think most of the adequate people here are passionate and they don’t spend their day thinking about Arsenal
Anyway it’s just empty words, a matter of how you name it.
@PG
When have I come on here and have a pop at you?
I come on and try and give a objective, balanced opinion. The Fabregas spitting thing? Mate the point I always make ( and I say this on Gooner forums when I hear people squealing about persecution ) is that every club has a certain number of fans who always feel they are persecuted. Some decisions we get, some we don’t and I believe you make your own luck. It’s simple.
Whatever happens tonight, I won’t be gloating or crying on here tomorrow (unless by some quirk of fate we manage to beat you heavily) I’ll leave that to next week.
I’m about to pee in my pants.!!
just can’t wait now.!! :=)
My hatred for them dropped by about 10 fold when that dirty cheating diving cunt Viera left… I loathe that guy.
And man I got pissed when those maniacs taunted Ruud…
Hatred is normally inspired by fear and envy…….hence most Man United hating our best players over the years and Arsenal fans hating the Utd’s best players.
I admit that whilst Van Nistelroy does have a face like a horse, he was/is a bloody good player
haha respect Gooner77, you’re a bigger man than I. Because I would die before saying Viera was a good player!!
Good article.
I also hated them for the longest of periods
and still somewhat miss that passionate hatred
that I would have in the build up to a Utd – Arsenal
match.
I really can not see Arsenal Stoping us from scoring. And i really cant see them scoring 3 goals to go through!
its not going to be easy! We need to ensure our workrate is high and we play well. If we dont we wont be in the final and we will not have any excuses!
You win things by a little bit of lady luck and Being better than the other team!
Id rather meet Barca in the final! If we meet chelsky i have a bad feeling they will nick it! Mainly because they will be hurting from last year and maybe be up for it more!..
I hope my gut feeling is wrong tho