Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has now admitted that Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘a little bit scared’ of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
The two legendary managers shared the biggest rivalry in the history of the Premier League. The battles Arsenal and Manchester United had back in the day were extraordinary, and Schmeichel has now made an interesting claim about his old boss.
Peter Schmeichel says Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘a little bit scared’ of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal
Arsene Wenger is the greatest manager Arsenal have ever had.
The legendary Frenchman is one of the main reasons why we are among the biggest clubs in the world today. He made us a global brand, but the reason why everyone loves him is because of what he did on the pitch.
Wenger arrived in England as a nobody to most people. Barely anyone had heard of him, but he took on the best manager in the country at the time – Sir Alex Ferguson – and came out on top on multiple occasions.
Peter Schmeichel, who was an integral part of Ferguson’s Manchester United back then, has now revealed that his old boss actually feared Wenger’s Arsenal.
He said on Planet Premier League: “Not so much running up to it, and not so much around those games, it was more, he was deliberately winding other managers up but it always came around other games, so if they played someone else and said something he would, you know.
“Of course, Wenger and Ferguson is one of the classics, but just to sort of illustrate how he was playing it was Kevin Keegan eventually snapped when they lost 4-3 to Liverpool. That was kind of how he played it, I don’t mean to insult anybody but it was great entertainment for us players, to see our manager playing around with the other managers.
“But I think with Wenger, it was more, I think he was a little bit not scared but this guy came in with a different background, wanted to play football in a different way, and he was a little bit scared of how that would impact his way of playing and if it would be better.
“I think the two of them are very much responsible for the level of what we have in the Premier League now.”
Wenger and Ferguson are two of the greatest
When you talk about the greatest rivalries in Premier League history, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal vs Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United is right up there.
The memories the two sides gave us in that period were just incredible. The tension and excitement throughout the week leading up to the game combined with either sheer euphoria or heartbreak after the clash was something else.
Wenger and Ferguson are two of the greatest managers this country has ever seen, and we doubt anyone else will make as much of an impact as these two did.
We can’t lie, as Arsenal fans, it’s nice to know that Ferguson was a bit scared of Wenger back in the day.
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