He is a specialist in not seeing things…
Arsene Wenger has claimed he ‘did not see’ the infamous Pizzagate incident, also known as the Battle of the Buffet, that occurred at Old Trafford following Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in 2004/05.
United and Arsenal had dominated the Premier League for years, with two managers at the peak of the powers in charge of each club. Arsenal had come off the back of their invincible season, and United were determined to bring them back down to earth.
Goals from Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney brought an end to Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run, with the first coming from a controversial penalty that prompted accusations of diving against Rooney.
In the tunnel after the game, tempers ran high to the point that food was thrown across the crowd of bodies. A slice of pizza landed on Sir Alex Ferguson who, as you can imagine, did not take it well.
Since the incident, it has come to light that Cesc Fabregas was the culprit, with the Spanish midfielder admitting to his part in the melee on Sky’s A League of Their Own.
But Wenger, to this day, claims not to have seen his player throw the pizza, and even goes as far as (jokingly, you’d hope) blaming Manchester United for putting the pizza in the away dressing room. Speaking to Mark Chapman in an interview for Esquire, the Frenchman said:
“I was a specialist in not seeing things. I didn’t see it. I’ve been told who did it.”
“Unfortunately it landed on Alex, but it was bit Man United’s fault because they put the pizzas in our dressing room, so…”
Looking back 16 years, Wenger can see the funny side.
“In hindsight, now, today, it’s funny, it’s funny. I can understand completely that Ferguson was unhappy. But I think after, with the distance, he laughs about it as well.”
