With Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout, you were guaranteed box-office football, crammed entertainment and the two sides went head-to-head in search of success when Arsenal took on Manchester United.
The fixtures were arguably English football's biggest rivalry just over 20 years ago, but it has certainly lost its edge as time has passed between the battles on the pitch for both sides.
However, January 12, 2025 could be the date that all of that changes – the result of a huge FA Cup tie that saw United knock out Arsenal on penalties after 120 minutes of action.
Altay Bayindir is the name that will be on the lips of United fans after he saved a penalty from Martin Odegaard in regulation time and made countless other stops before denying Kai Havertz in the shootout.
How the game played out
A turbocharged atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium was surprisingly rewarded with a soft and uneventful first half that saw Gabriel Jesus' potentially serious knee injury cover procedures.
Gabriel Martinelli's disallowed goal just after quarter of an hour was the first incident of any note – the Brazilian ruled offside before sliding the ball into the back of Bayindir's net – but Arsenaldespite being booed by the home faithful, it failed to sustain any momentum.
Odegaard looked brilliant in patches but he struggled to pick apart a well-organised United defense that was comfortable against a Gunners side missing the quality of Bukayo Saka at right-back.
Kobbie Mainoo had United's first effort on goal, forcing David Raya to get down smartly and stop his 25-yard shot, before Lisandro Martinez picked up the game's first yellow card after a collision with Jesus – a joint which may have indirectly led to the subsequent knee injury.
Bruno Fernandes was also booked for dissent, in response to a clash with Jesus that eventually saw the 27-year-old stretchered off with his shirt on to hide the pain on his face.
Analysis of the first half of Match of the Day trio Gary Lineker, Theo Walcott and Micah Richards, along with a cup of tea and McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestive, was barely given time to finish before the match suddenly burst into life .
Alejandro Garnacho emerged from a 50/50 clash with Gabriel on the halfway line with the ball and into Arsenal territory. Argentinian striker, he remembers after Amad Diallo was sitting on the benchthen played a pinpoint ball across the area to the onrushing Fernandes, who slotted home a superb finish with his stride to send the 8,000 traveling United supporters into a frenzy.
At that point, Arsenal were clearly second best, but Diogo Dalot's dismissal for a second yellow card – for a cheeky tackle on a loose ball – gave the competition's most successful side (14 wins) a way out in the match. Dalot had barely gone down the tunnel before Gabriel Magalhaes equalized – the goal-loving centre-back took advantage of a poor Bayindir punch to fire home a low shot via a deflection off Matthijs de Ligt's boot.
Bayindir then took center stage as his rather average performance in the first 70 minutes of the game was replaced by something resembling Prime Minister Peter Schmeichel.
First, after Harry Maguire was adjudged to have fouled Havertz in the penalty area, he saved Odegaard's penalty, before a superb tip over the bar denied substitute Declan Rice. Havertz then inexplicably put the ball over the bar from close range as Arsenal tried to press home the man advantage, with Rice once again denied by Bayindir before the end of regulation time.
A superb last-ditch clearance from De Ligt prevented substitute Leandro Trossard from scoring early in extra-time, while at the other end Raya, a virtual spectator since Fernandes' goal, got down brilliantly to save the deflected shot from Joshua Zirkzee. start of the second 15 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner, sending the game to penalties, and Bayindir was again the hero as he ensured Havertz had a game to remember for all the wrong reasons. United scored all five of their spot kicks, Zirkzee was given the honor of sending the holders into the fourth round.
Penalty shootout
See player ratings from Arsenal 1-1 Man Utd (3-5 pens) here.
Nothing can resist a bit of controversy, especially when it's a heavyweight clash because two of England's most successful clubs.
With VAR not used in the third round of FA Cupit was up to the officials on the field to have the final say on any decision. And in the 17th minute of the game, it was decided whether or not Gabriel Martinelli was offside before slotting the ball into the United net.
The Brazilian was too far, too clear, but the debatable element was whether Harry Maguire's attempt to intercept Odegaard's ball was an attempt to play the ball or just a deflection.
Had it been the former, Martinelli would have been ruled a winger, but the assistant referee on the near-line opted for the latter – much to the disappointment of Mikel Arteta, as he whispered into the fourth official's ear: “It's not possible” .
Unfortunately, for the Spaniard it was possible and the call not to stop.
Bayindir played 145 games in all competitions for Turkish giants Fenerbahce – certainly a big enough example for United to decide whether he would cut the mustard in England.
The 26-year-old was deliberately signed to be Andre Onana's mentor but has featured just four times for the Red Devils – three of those appearances coming this season. Carabao Cup. Judging by his dribbling ability – or apparent lack thereof – and the initial vacuum of aura whenever the ball entered the box from the air, he has some work to do.
Indeed, if Amorim was inclined to give Bayindir the benefit of the doubt for his disastrous footwork, he is unlikely to be so kind when addressing his own tackle from a cross that led straight to Gabriel's draw.
However.
While all of the above were, well, bad, what he produced in the final 20 minutes of normal time was nothing short of spectacular. First, Bayindir got down to his left brilliantly to keep out Odegaard's weak penalty – the first time the Norwegian had missed one in senior football – before showing cat-like reflexes to deny Declan Rice's header. Yes, the English midfielder got his hands on it, but it was a super stop nonetheless.
Bayindir then teed up Havertz to tip the ball over the bar into the dying embers, and again denied Rice by curling his last-gasp left-footed effort around the post.
In the shootout, he thought of the right way to deny Havertz once again – going from zero to hero in the blink of an eye.
There was a time when Harry Maguire's Manchester United career looked to be over. Out of the squad and out of luck, he was still knocking around just because of his hefty pay packet.
But in Amorim's familiar back-three system – a formation Maguire played for Gareth Southgate while playing for England – the 31-year-old looks right at home. Surrounded by De Ligt and Martinez, he made nine defensive actions in the first half alone, cleared the ball five times and won four of the four duels he contested. He also rose as a salmon on four occasions.
The second half was more of the same, clearing the ball from United's penalty area on numerous occasions, and he was extremely unlucky to concede a penalty for Havertz's most minute tackle. Leny Yoro is expected to become a regular in the United squad, but it's hard to argue against Maguire's inclusion when he's playing at this level.
Make no mistake about it, Arsenal are a completely different side without Bukayo Saka.
To say they're out of ideas without the 23-year-old is perhaps a bit of an extreme, but it's undeniable that most attacks seem to stop without his invention, ability to beat a man inside or out, or his. promoting the quality of the moment on the ball.
Things really improved in the chance creation department after Dalot's red card, which allowed Arteta's side more space and freedom to create overloads. And without wishing to sound like a broken record, they are missing that player with a killer instinct in front of goal – Odegaard's timid effort from the spot and Havertz's strange late miss before extra-time further evidence of what missing.
Alexander Isak is the only one, although the way Arsenal go about raising £150m is well above this writer's salary.