In the tunnel after the match, tempers boiled over between staff of both clubs, and amid the brawl, a slice of pizza was thrown at Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was furious in his post-match briefing, criticising referee Mike Riley for his performance and describing Van Nistelrooy as a cheat.

[3] Though the club failed to win another trophy in the next three seasons, they vied for domestic honours with Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.

[5] Meetings between Arsenal and Manchester United were considered the pinnacle of English football during the 2000s; journalist Paul Wilson wrote in his preview of the October 2004 match: "Their rivalry is not simply about winning trophies, it is an adornment to the wider game.

"[8] The equivalent fixture a year earlier was a goalless draw, notable for Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy missing a last-minute penalty.

[9] Van Nistelrooy was accused by both Vieira and Wenger of feigning contact to get his opponent sent off, while Ferguson defended his player and denied he had dived.

"[18] Wenger believed United's strengths lay in creativity, and did not want to set his team out to nullify, rather to "... play our game based on speed and technique.

[22] Such was the concern another brawl would take place, Greater Manchester Police officers spoke to Riley to underline the need for players to behave themselves.

[24] Manchester United beat Arsenal en route to winning the FA Cup the previous season and were undefeated against their league opponents in almost two years.

[26] Arsenal were expected to line up slightly different to Manchester United, with Thierry Henry and José Antonio Reyes as the two centre-forwards in a traditional 4–4–2 formation.

[26] Vieira was expected to return to the starting XI; earlier in the week Wenger rated his chances of playing as "80 per cent" after he sprained his ankle against Aston Villa.

[26] When the teamsheets were released, Wenger's selection showed Dennis Bergkamp as the preferred striking partner to Henry; Reyes was positioned on the left wing which meant Robert Pires started the match on the substitutes' bench.

For Manchester United, there was no place for Keane in the squad, so Ferguson brought in Phil Neville to partner Paul Scholes in central midfield.

It took a while before Arsenal gained composure and played their usual passing game, and a move involving Edu and Freddie Ljungberg in the 19th minute resulted in Rio Ferdinand carelessly tackling the latter.

[30] Television replays showed Van Nistelrooy ran his studs down Cole's shins, but the striker was not punished by Riley despite the action being in full view of his assistant at the touchline.

[30] Touré's clearance presented United the chance to break in numbers and Rooney, at the heart of their attack, reached the penalty area only to go down under Campbell's challenge.

[29] Riley awarded United a penalty, despite Campbell seeming to withdraw from the tackle and Rooney "... already heading for the turf as the defender pulled his foot away," wrote Kevin McCarra in his match report for The Guardian.

In stoppage time, United added their second goal of the match as substitutes Louis Saha and Alan Smith combined to set up Rooney, who finished a counter-attacking move with a tap-in past Lehmann.

"[39] Riley did not mention the tunnel fracas in his match report which was sent to the FA, but the governing body revealed their intention to shed light on the matter.

"[48] The Arsenal manager claimed that Rooney told his players that he felt no contact, but the referee made the decision to give Manchester United a penalty which he called the turning point of the match.

[49] Wenger was not surprised at United's rough treatment of Reyes – "That's what they always try against us when they're in a difficult situation" and accused Van Nistelrooy of being a cheat in his post-match television interview.

"[55] Matt Dickinson of The Times described the victory as huge for "Ferguson and his faltering squad," regardless of the scoreline or indeed if Arsenal had played the better football in patches.

[49] The Guardian correspondent Kevin McCarra felt aggrieved in the manner Arsenal had ended their unbeaten run, but pointed out they were fortunate no action was taken when Cole fouled Ronaldo.

[57] Ferguson accused Henry of "serious foul play" on Heinze, but the striker escaped an FA investigation and probable three-match ban as the manager's complaint was not submitted on time.

[58] Arsenal struggled to regain the same level of consistency shown earlier in the season; in the space of a month they fell five points behind leaders Chelsea,[59] who went on to win the league.

[60] Manchester United remained inconsistent; they lost to Portsmouth in their next game[61] and ended the season in third place behind Arsenal, despite looking likely to finish runners-up.

[62] In the League Cup, the clubs met in the quarter-final stage at Old Trafford in December and even though both sides fielded weakened teams, the match was not short of drama.

[67] This came about by an incident during the pre-game warm up when Vieira had allegedly pushed Gary Neville after confronting the player about the challenges Pires suffered at Old Trafford earlier in the season.

[67] Once Keane found out back in the United dressing room, he unleashed a verbal tirade on Vieira including telling the Arsenal skipper "I'll see you out there".

Ferguson in his autobiography reflected it as the point where his relationship with Wenger started to break down, and it was not until United's Champions League semi-final victory over Arsenal in 2009 that they were on talking terms.