4. Two fingers

On 6 May 1991, as they celebrated Arsenal’s second league title in three years, the Highbury crowd showcased their new favourite chant. The song, to the tune of She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain When She Comes, was ostensibly directed at the Football Association. But the entire football world was encouraged to listen.

You can stick your fucking two points up your arse

You can stick your fucking two points up your arse

You can stick your fucking two points

Stick your fucking two points

Stick your fucking two points up your arse!

The opposition for Arsenal’s party were Manchester United, which was a neat twist. A donnybrook between the two sides in the return fixture led to both having points deducted by the FA: two for Arsenal, one for United. The punishment was supposed to finish Arsenal’s title challenge; instead, it invigorated it.

That game in October became known as the Battle of Old Trafford, although technically it was the sequel after the Norman conquest of January 1987. Arsenal, despite being unbeaten, were in the slipstream of the champions Liverpool, who had won all eight league games and were six points clear. With Liverpool drawing 1-1 at Norwich, Arsenal reduced that to four with a 1-0 win over United. It came from an ingenious goal from their new Swedish signing Anders Limpar, who took a short corner, received a return pass and then caught Les Sealey out at the near post. United argued it hadn’t crossed the line; the referee Keith Hackett thought it had. Replays weren’t remotely conclusive either way, though the United manager Alex Ferguson saw something nobody else did. “The goal was a good one,” he said afterwards. “The video showed quite clearly the referee was right and the ball had crossed the line.” United’s only complaint was a moral one: Limpar’s goal, just before half-time, came spectacularly against the run of play.

Limpar was a revelation in his first few months at Highbury – a half-season wonder who added flair, class, imagination and goals to Arsenal’s team. He did things that were alien to English football – like scoring from impossible angles. “It must have been a mishit,” said Ferguson. “He was only two yards from the byline. You can’t hit a deliberate shot from there.”

Limpar did, and for a short but thrilling period it looked like he might have the kind of profound, enduring impact that Eric Cantona would later make at Manchester United.

For a delicate winger, Limpar also had a snide side. His naughty tackle in the second half started a chain of events that would lead to most of the 22 players being involved in a mass confrontation.

Until then it had been an intense, physical game, but not particularly dirty. The unlikely catalyst was a piece of skill from the United right-back Denis Irwin, a drag back that deceived Limpar and sent him sliding off in the wrong direction. An affronted Limpar bounced up and came back for more, deliberately leaving a foot in as Irwin cleared the ball. Irwin winced from the impact but play continued until, ten seconds later, Limpar was tripped by Mike Phelan. Irwin, who was nearby, booted the ball at Limpar’s head, missed and then followed through by deliberately scraping his leg under Limpar’s armpit.

Limpar bounced up to passive-aggressively offer a handshake, an offer that Irwin impolitely declined with a forceful shove. Limpar responded to that by kneeing Irwin in the thigh. “He had been needling away and getting up the noses of a number of our players,” said Ferguson in 6 Years at United. “I have got to say that he is that type of player.”

Nigel Winterburn charged in to ask Irwin, with the aid of a popular four-letter word, what he was doing. Neil Webb, United’s captain in the absence of the injured Bryan Robson, then shoved Winterburn out of the way. Eventually the referee Keith Hackett spoke to Limpar and Irwin, who pointed to the left foot that was still smarting from Limpar’s original tackle. Hackett settled for a warning rather than a booking. As they dispersed, Irwin again ignored Limpar’s offer of a handshake.

It might have petered out after that, had the players involved had chance to cool down while play continued elsewhere on the field, but serendipity played its part less than 20 seconds after the restart in the form of a poor pass from Brian McClair. His attempted header towards Irwin fell short and went to Limpar instead. He nutmegged Irwin, simultaneously hurdling a tackle that was somewhere between determined and wild.

 As Limpar landed the ball hit the back of his leg and fell perfectly in between him, Irwin and Winterburn. Irwin got to the ball first and was hit by studs-up challenges from both sides. Winterburn went over the top of the ball to plant his studs into Irwin’s leg. "Let's face it, a scandalous challenge, a real leg-breaker,” said his team-mate Alan Smith in his autobiography. Limpar didn’t even bother with the pretence that he was going for the ball; his studs went straight into the fleshy part of the thigh.

Winterburn had not even hit the ground when his old friend McClair, who was on the scene attempting to redeem his poor pass, started kicking him in the back. Irwin came from the other side, hoofing a prostrate Winterburn between the legs with such zeal that he fell over. McClair kept kicking Winterburn in the back until Limpar, on his blind side, punched him round the ear. "I was involved in the tackle with Denis Irwin that started it all off but what went on after that wasn't my fault,” said Winterburn in So Paddy Got Up. “I got a couple of kicks in the back and fair play because it was competitive."