The Feud: New Fergie-Wenger rivalry documentary looks like a heavenly blast of football nostalgia

Matthew Gault

You had us at Fergie.

Modern football isn’t explosive enough. There’s a controversial statement. Sure, there are still rivalries, back-and-forths between managers in press conferences (Mourinho and Conte being this season’s highlight) and moments of genuine excitement, like last week in the Champions League.

But these days, in the Premier League anyway, there is a distinct lack of a compelling, cinematic feud like the one between Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in the late 1990s and into the new millennium.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City just blew everyone away this year, dissipating any hopes that the Catalan would reignite his rivalry with Mourinho from their time in charge of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

But we always have nostalgia. Much like how ITV’s documentary Keane & Vieira: Best of Enemies portrayed the death of the on-pitch general in football, Fergie v Wenger: The Feud will showcase the legendary rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal, which reached fever pitch in the years following Arsene Wenger’s arrival at Highbury in October 1996.

Described by The Guardian as an “exhilarating hour of time travel,” The Feud will take us back to Pizzagate, the 6-1 and that unforgettable FA Cup semi-final replay in 1999, providing a remarkably potent hit of football nostalgia for fans who were old enough to truly appreciate a football rivalry for the ages back then.

The documentary features interviews with former Manchester United stars Paul Scholes, Andy Cole, Phil Neville, as well as Fergie’s former assistant Steve McClaren, while Arsenal Lee Dixon, Martin Keown, Sol Campbell and Emmanuel Petit will offer their own recollections.

Fergie v Wenger: The Feud will be shown on Monday, 23 April on Channel 5 at 10pm. Channel 5 isn’t the most readily accessible channel in Ireland but the documentary will almost certainly be available after transmission online.