Club Connections – Arsenal

Of course this afternoon, Manchester United face Arsenal up at Old Trafford looking to make it 3 wins out of 3 in the Premier League so far. With that in mind it’s worth looking at 8 individuals who have both spent time at United and Arsenal in their careers in the game.

Viv Anderson

Famously Anderson is known for the fact that he was the first black player to win an England cap. A key part of Brian Clough’s successful Nottingham Forest side he moved to Arsenal in 1984 where he won a League Cup starting at right-back in a tense 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley.

Viv joined United in the summer of 1987 but in three seasons and a half at Old Trafford was unable to hold down a starting place due to a mixture of niggling injuries and competition in the form of Lee Martin. He would later join Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer before linking up as assistant manager to his former team mate Bryan Robson at Middlesbrough.

Andrew Cole

Despite scoring 121 goals for United, it’s easy to forget that Cole started his career at Arsenal after coming through their ranks as a schoolboy. After only making 2 first team appearances, he left London in 1992 and moved to Bristol City.

After scoring 20 goals a season and a half for City, Cole joined Newcastle United where he rose to prominence in the Premier League. He surprisingly joined United in January 1995 in a deal that saw Keith Gillespie go the other way. Cole would prove to be one of the best strikers of his generation and despite leaving United in 2001, would go onto score many more goals before retiring.

Brian Kidd

Younger United fans may only know Kidd as Roberto Mancini’s assistant at Manchester City, but he’s much more than that. At the age of 18 he broke into the United team at the start of the historic 1967-68 season which culminated in him scoring at Wembley in the side’s European Cup win.

Sadly after that historic night at the home of football, United’s side declined and Brian sadly didn’t develop to the standard that his potential suggested he would. He left to join Arsenal in 1974 following our relegation to the second division before joining City two years later. At both clubs he had a good scoring record, scoring almost a goal every 2 games.

George Graham

Graham is of course best remembered for his time in charge of Arsenal where he formed arguably the best British back four of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Despite that it’s easy to forget that he was a good solid midfielder who gained the captaincy at United following Bobby Charlton’s retirement.

His time at Old Trafford though was a disappointment and he was often criticised for his ‘relaxed’ style which often found United wanting in the middle of the park. George ended his career in America before turning to management, where after learning the ropes at Millwall, he led Arsenal to 7 major honours before being controversially sacked in February 1995.

David Herd

Make no mistake about it, Herd who scored a staggering 145 goals for United is definitely one of the finest strikers to have ever played for the club. Joining after a prolific spell at Arsenal where he scored 107 goals in 180 appearances for £37k, he adapted to life at Old Trafford immediately.

He was a forward who had it all. He was able to run at players, hard to shake of the ball and he had a powerful shot which was surprisingly accurate. Sadly though despite winning 3 major honours under Sir Matt Busby, he cruelly missed out on United’s European Cup win over Benfica at Wembley which prevented him scoring many more goals for the club.

Stewart Houston

After playing under Tommy Doherty at Chelsea, Houston a solid defender was reunited with his old boss in December 1973 after joining United from Brentford in December 1973 midway through the season which would end with the club being relegated to Division 2.

Stewart’s second season saw United romp to the Championship and he played every game of his third season, which ended in him picking up a loser’s medal in 1976. Injury denied him making amends for that in the following season’s final. The Scot joined Arsenal in 1990 to serve as his old team-mate Graham’s assistant and would later have two caretaker-spells in charge of the Gooners.

Mikael Silvestre

Signing from Inter Milan at the start of the 1999/2000 season, Silvestre would go on to be a success at Old Trafford winning 10 major honours in nine seasons at Old Trafford. He was a reliable if not outstanding defender who was able to play anywhere across the back four.

Sadly Mikael’s form declined due to injuries and he surprisingly was brought to the Emirates by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2008. Whilst his form in his two seasons in London was not outstanding, he linked up well with William Gallas adding much-needed experience to Arsenal’s defence before leaving to join Werder Bremen last year.

Frank Stapleton

Who was the first man to score for two different clubs in two FA Cup Finals? The answer to that question was Stapleton who after scoring for Arsenal against United in the ‘five-minute’ final in 1979, scored United’s first equaliser in the first Wembley meeting against Brighton in 1983.

A regular in Ireland’s side for 14 years, Frank joined United ironically as a schoolboy but was allowed to leave to join the Gooners in 1972 where he enjoyed success scoring 108 goals in 300 appearances. Whilst not being a prolific forward, after rejoining the club in 1981, his bravery and power won many admirers as helped the side win two FA Cup’s during five successful seasons.

By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87