It has now been exactly 10 years since the infamous 'Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal' football match took place at Old Trafford.
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Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal. A scoreline – and a match – that still feels surreal when one thinks about it. The football world in 2011 was something of a different place than it is now. United were the defending Premier League champions coming into the 2011-12 season. Arsenal, while not necessarily title contenders, were stiff opposition and always finished in the Top 4. The two sides had, over the years, developed a healthy rivalry due to competing for top honours. Some heated fixtures between the two sides also helped matters. Therefore, when the two sides faced off early in the season, anticipation for another good game was high.
Instead, what fans got was a match that is remembered by many for all the wrong reasons. With 10 years having passed since the match, let us look back at how it all unfolded.
It’s worth noting again that Arsenal were not title contenders at that time. Still, before the match, then-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson took a shot at Arsene Wenger’s recent trophyless run.
Ferguson said he would never allow such a barren run to be seen at the club. The Gunners had last won the FA Cup in 2005 but since then had slid down the table as trophy challengers.
Ferguson did add that he sympathised with Wenger’s plight, with the manager having lost two key players in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri that same summer. He also added that with a little more investment, Arsenal would compete again.
Yet the battle lines were already drawn and United were the heavy favourites. They had won their first two Premier League games of the season whereas Arsenal had drawn one and lost the other.
To make matters worse for Wenger, he had not invested much money on new incoming transfers. This is despite losing key players that same year.
Most expected a United win after the match. However, it is fair to say absolutely no one expected what actually happened.
The match started with Arsenal naming a much-changed playing XI due to suspensions. United, on the other hand, named an unchanged XI from the previous week’s win. As it turns out, Arsenal’s disjointed defence came back to haunt them.
The first goal was conceded in typically Arsenal style. A cross from Anderson saw Danny Welbeck charge forward and meet it with his head. Amazingly, no one had picked up the striker. 1-0 United.
Arsenal could have levelled the scores merely 5 minutes later after being awarded a penalty. However, Robin van Persie’s effort was saved by David de Gea.
The second goal again came about due to a defensive mishap. Armand Traore, deputising for Kieran Gibbs at left-back, cleared the ball out only as far as Ashley Young. Young shifted the ball to his right foot and unleashed a trademark curler from the left. 2-0 United.
Wayne Rooney scored the third with a cleverly worked free-kick. Rooney rolled the ball to Young, who trapped it and thus changed the angle of the shot. Rooney then curled it around the wall to make it 3-0.
Theo Walcott would pull one back for Arsenal before the break, meaning the scoreline was 3-1 to United at half-time. However, it was in the second half when things really went south for the Gunners.
Rooney scored his second with the exact same free-kick routine and then set up the fifth, finding Nani unmarked to chip Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. 5-1 was bad enough, but it didn’t end there.
Park Ji-Sung came on as a substitute and added a sixth before Van Persie scored a second for Arsenal. Not that it mattered though, as Young and Rooney scored again.
At the end, the scoreline was simple – Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal.
The result put plenty of heat on Wenger, who had already disillusioned a small but vocal portion of the fanbase. Feeling the sting of the defeat, he went out and reinforced the squad.
In came five new signings. Mikel Arteta was signed from Everton, and Yossi Benayoun was loaned from Chelsea. Per Mertersacker arrived from Werder Bremen, as did Park Chu-young from Monaco. Left-back Andre Santos was also signed from Fenerbahce.
However, it would be two more years before Arsenal finally ended their trophy drought. United, meanwhile, would win another Premier League title in 2013 – with Van Persie being their leading goal-scorer, no less.
But the result of this particular match still stings for Arsenal fans, and understandably so. United fans, meanwhile, voted this match as their greatest ever Premier League match in a 2017 Sky Sports poll. Ouch.
