The Good
November 7th, 1997: Arsenal 3 Manchester United 2
A landmark win in Wenger’s first full season in charge as David Platt’s 83rd minute winner gave Arsenal the spoils at Highbury. Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead but a brace from Teddy Sheringham brought United level by the break.
October 23rd, 1999: Arsenal 3 Chelsea 2
A remarkable game where Chelsea looked to be coasting when they led 2-0 thanks to goals from Tore Andre Flo and Dan Petrescu. But then entered Nwankwo Kanu to change the course of the game as he bagged an astonishing hat-trick to seal victory at Stamford Bridge.
May 8th, 2002: Arsenal 1 Manchester United 0
It’s always sweet to clinch the Premier League title days after winning the FA Cup. Managing to do with victory away to your fiercest rivals makes it all the sweeter. Sylvain Wiltord bagged the winner on this occasion.
November 25th, 2003: Arsenal 5 Inter Milan 1
Thierry Henry orchestrated a landslide Champions League victory at the San Siro. Henry scored twice while Freddie Ljungberg, Edu and Robert Pires were all on target as well.
February 21st, 2006: Arsenal 1 Real Madrid 0
A hugely significant win for Arsenal at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League clash. Henry netted the only goal in the game against opponents spearheaded by Zidane, Ronaldo (the Brazilian one), Robinho, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham.
October 29th, 2011: Arsenal 5 Chelsea 3
A victory to savour for Arsenal fans against their London rivals at Stamford Bridge. Robin Van Persie hit a hat-trick, including two goals in the finale, that clinched the victory in an eight-goal thriller.
The Bad
May 11th, 1999: Leeds 1 Arsenal 0
A damaging defeat in Arsenal’s hopes of retaining the title that year as they ceded the initiative to Manchester United in the process. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink struck the winner with five minutes left for Leeds.
May 12th, 2001: Liverpool 2 Arsenal 1
Freddie Ljungberg gave Arsenal the lead with 20 minutes left but they were overturned by a late, late show from Liverpool. Michael Owen struck twice in the final ten minutes to shatter Arsenal’s hopes of glory.
May 17th, 2006: Barcelona 2 Arsenal 1
The closest Arsenal have come to landing a coveted Champions League title under Wenger’s reign was at the final hurdle in 2006. Sol Campbell’s 37th minute goal gave them a lead that they still held entering the last 15 minutes. But their hopes were dashed with Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti both scoring to give Barcelona the lead.
The Ugly
February 25th, 2001: Manchester United 6 Arsenal 1
A result that saw Manchester United take a huge step towards lifting the Premier League title. The game was settled by the interval with Arsenal trailing 5-1. It ended up in a humiliating defeat for Wenger’s side with Dwight Yorke scoring a hat-trick.
February 5th, 2011: Newcastle United 4 Arsenal 4
A game to forget at St James Park after Arsenal had been ahead 4-0 at the break and still held that advantage midway through the second-half. Then Newcastle launched a remarkable comeback as they rifled in four goals, including two Joey Barton penalties, with Cheik Tiote striking the equalizer with three minutes left.
August 28th, 2011: Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2
A brutal afternoon for Wenger and his team at Old Trafford. They trailed 3-1 at half-time and the agony was piled on in the second-half as they shipped five more goals with Wayne Rooney completing a hat-trick.
