By 
How I Dug Up That Messy United vs Arsenal History
Right, sat down today wanting this neat timeline of Man United and Arsenal wins and losses. Figured it’d be straightforward, yeah? Famous last words.
Started by cracking open my old notebooks. Always jot down football stuff over the years – fixtures, scorers, weird moments. Spread them out on the table. Problem is, my handwriting looks like a spider fell in ink and had a seizure. Plus, dates are all over the shop. Needed something cleaner.
Grabbed the laptop next. Went straight to a big football stats site everyone uses. Searched “Man United vs Arsenal”. Boom, loads of results pour out. But hold up – this site just gives basic scores and dates. Tells me United won 2-1 at Old Trafford on some date in 2003. Useful for wins, but I need everything – draws, painful losses, full context. Their head-to-head section? Only showed the last five meetings. Useless.
Decided to hit the books, literally. Dragged out this massive Premier League history tome I own. Dust flew everywhere, made me sneeze. Flipped through the Arsenal and United chapters. Found some good nuggets – early 90s battles, famous punch-ups. But the book organizes by season, so finding all clashes between just these two meant flipping back and forth like a madman. Took ages just to confirm that one nasty 0-0 draw at Highbury in ’98. Felt like detective work gone wrong.
Sat back, scratched my head. Realized I needed a different angle. Remembered forums! Hopped onto this massive football fan forum I lurk on. Searched “United Arsenal timeline”. Fans love compiling this stuff. Found a few threads started by hardcore supporters. Saw someone actually listing results from years back, even mentions of obscure League Cup games I’d forgotten. But then… chaos. Arguments erupt in the comments! “That Keown goal was offside!” “Wenger out!” “No, Fergie time robbed us!” Scores conflicted with official sites. Got so muddy I almost gave up. Had to cross-reference every single fan-claimed result back with official records. Made me curse those tedious draws even more.
Why do I know all this drama? Been stuck in the middle of it. Writing a piece a few years back on Fergie vs Wenger. Trawled through microfiche at the library – ancient newspapers – trying to get the attendance figures right for a 70s clash. Nearly tore my hair out reading blurry newsprint. Been burned by dodgy internet data before. Found a fan site listing a United loss that official records showed as a draw. Learned the hard way: trust, but verify everything. Twice. Pain. In. The. Backside.
Eventually pieced it together like a jigsaw puzzle with missing edges:
- Ploughed through the official club histories online (slow loading, annoying ads).
- Double-checked scorers and red cards against highlight reels I found later.
- Used three different apps to line up all the dates chronologically.
- Went back to my notebooks for the atmosphere stuff – that Van Nistelrooy penalty miss, the pizza tunnel fight.
Hours later, got it. A rough timeline showing all the major clashes:
- Arsenal sneaking a 1-0 at Old Trafford early 90s.
- The Invincibles ending United’s home streak, big deal.
- United hitting back with that 8-2 drubbing years later. Ouch.
- Loads of scrappy 0-0 draws everybody hated.
- All those FA Cup meetings causing havoc.
Finished exhausted. Saw United have a slight edge overall recently, but honestly? Feels like Arsenal caused just as many headaches. All that work just to confirm these two teams absolutely love ruining each other’s weekends. Worth it? Maybe. Still shaking my head. Football, eh?
David