- United and Arsenal had heated 2000s rivalry
- Adversaries competed for league title
- Rooney reveals falling out with Campbell
Rooney has revealed Campbell gave him the cold shoulder for months after a heated game between United and Arsenal back in the 2000s. The Red Devils beat the Gunners during a 2004-05 clash, ending their opponents ‘invincible’ streak as Rooney won a contentious penalty which Ruud van Nistelrooy converted before getting on the scoresheet himself in the 93rd minute to cap a 2-0 victory.
Games between United and Arsenal were heated affairs during the late 1990s and 2000s, with both sides vying for the Premier League title. There were several flashpoints of controversy, with antics from the likes of Van Nistelrooy, Martin Keown, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas now the stuff of legend.
Speaking on his podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, the former England captain said: “It was a big game for Arsenal. If they had won it, it was 50 games unbeaten for them. We beat them 2-0 and Campbell did not speak to me for over six months. We met up [during international duty] and Sol won’t speak to me. Sometimes, I was with Sol and I’d say to him: ‘Come on man, we are playing for England here’. But he wouldn’t speak to me because he felt I dived. He left his leg out and I think there was a small contact.”
United ended Arsenal’s unbeaten streak but they weren’t good enough over the season to win the title, with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea proving too strong for the rest of England’s top flight.
Arsenal got the better of United this time around as an Altay Bayindir error handed the Gunners victory on Sunday. The Red Devils are back in action on Saturday when they visit Fulham.
