Sir Alex Ferguson said: “It became toxic for a while. The big change that made Arsenal was reinventing [Thierry] Henry. And the goals… he was fantastic. You’re always looking in the rear-view mirror to see who’s coming up behind you, and when you see someone, you accelerate. Arsenal were catching us up, and their team was good enough to go above us, there’s no question about that.”

Arsene Wenger said: “Everyone was scared of him, from the press to the referees. I thought that’s a good opportunity for me to show that it’s not only in England that you know how to play football. I was ready for the fight. It was sometimes very aggressive, especially after the games. When you’re fighting to win, you are two lions. Your only one desire is to eat the lion who is against you. I was not scared of anybody in football.”