Wales manager Ryan Giggs has named several Arsenal players that he had an “intense dislike” for while he was still playing for Manchester United.
One of the greatest rivalries we have seen in the Premier League was brewed in clashes between the Gunners and the Red Devils, with the intensity sometimes spilling over on the pitch and down the tunnel. And Giggs, who is currently the manager of the Wales national team, claims that their “dislike” of the Arsenal players drove Sir Alex Ferguson’s side on to glory. “I didn’t like Arsenal,” Giggs said. “I didn’t like Vieira ’cos he was dirty and got away with murder. I didn’t like Petit because he had long hair. I didn’t like Bergkamp. I didn’t like Pires even though when you meet him now he’s actually dead nice. I wouldn’t even look at them, didn’t know them and didn’t want to. I wouldn’t allow myself to rate any of them. Berkgamp? Nah, I told myself he wasn’t as good as Eric Cantona. I wasn’t really that kind of person. It wasn’t really me. But you had to get that in your head, that intense dislike. It was pure motivation. But deep down we knew. They were top drawer and that rivalry was everything to us. Deeper even than Liverpool at that time.”
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