MANCHESTER UNITED have had some huge wins against Arsenal over the years, but none bigger than in August 2011.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men demolished Arsene Wenger’s men 8-2 at Old Trafford despite fielding a relatively poor side.
The Gunners were completely mesmerised by the likes of Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Nani and Danny Welbeck.
Man Utd went on to finish second in the Premier League – pipped to the title by Man City after Sergio Aguero’s famous last-minute goal against QPR on the final day of the season.
Arsenal finished a distant third under Wenger and lost star striker Robin van Persie to Old Trafford the following summer.
But who exactly played for Man Utd that day? And what’s happened to them since?
SunSport winds the clock back to 28 August 2011…
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David De Gea
The Spanish goalkeeper was a fresh-faced 20-year-old when he joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
Growing up he always idolised ex-Man Utd goalkeepers Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar – and was dubbed ‘Van der Gea’ after a super performance at the 2007 U17 World Cup.
He’s still going strong at Man Utd despite being linked with Real Madrid every single transfer window.
Chris Smalling
Versatile defender Smalling had quite the rise from Maidstone United to Manchester United – with a two-year spell at Fulham sandwiched in between.
The Greenwich-born defender is believed to be a boyhood Arsenal fan – which makes it a bit odd that he was assaulted by one at the Emirates two years ago.
Phil Jones
Long before ‘Phil Jones face’ became an internet meme, the defender was an exciting prospect at Blackburn.
He signed for Man Utd in the summer of 2011 and is still at the club despite a lean run due to injuries.
Jones, 29, hasn’t played since January 2020 and is working his way back to fitness again.
We scored fantastic goals. Wayne Rooney’s two free-kicks, Ashley Young’s two fantastic goals and Nani’s chip. They were fantastic quality goals.
Sir Alex Ferguson
Jonny Evans
The 33-year-old spent 11 years at Old Trafford from 2006 to 2015, albeit with a couple of loan spells in his early seasons.
He married a MUTV reporter Helen McConnell in 2013 and the pair have three children together.
Evans still plays for Leicester in the Premier League, and was part of their FA Cup winning squad from a season ago.
Patrice Evra
The French left-back is so good on social media that it’s easy to forget how good he was as a player.
Apart from the time when he seemed to kiss and lick RAW chicken.
But he made amends a couple years later when he ‘had a quick little upgrade’ because his chicken was cooked.
Nani
The Portuguese midfielder scored Man Utd’s fifth goal in the 8-2 thrashing.
He scored a fair few worldies in his time at Old Trafford and became a bit of a favourite, if not a great.
Nani left Old Trafford in 2014 and is still playing for Orlando City in the MLS at the tender age of 34.
Anderson
Brazilian midfielder Anderson never really hit it off at Old Trafford despite spending eight years in Manchester.
It wasn’t because of his lack of confidence. Here’s what he said on the day.
“I don’t think I saw one of our players make a mistake that day.
“After we’d scored five, I started to take the p*** with the ball. The manager had to take me off.”
Still, he left with four Premier League titles and a Champions League and is now enjoying retirement after a two-year spell in Turkey.
It was a humiliating defeat that hurts very much. We were quiet for periods in the game and collapsed in the second half because we were weakened in some areas. In the last 20 minutes we were terrible.
Arsene Wenger
Tom Cleverley
Midfielder Cleverley had a rapid rise to the top similar to the likes of Jack Wilshere.
He only made 55 league appearances for the Red Devils in his time with the club, and now plays for Watford.
And he’s still enjoying life off the pitch with his reality TV wife Georgina Dorsett.
Dorsett and Cleverley said their ‘I do’s’ in a very glitzy ceremony at the exclusive 5-star hotel Claridge’s in Mayfair, London in 2015.
Guests for the lavish bash included Wayne and Coleen Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Wes Brown, Chris Smalling and Ched Evans.
Ashley Young
The Aston Villa star seemed to play in every position under the sun during his nine years at Old Trafford.
He scored twice in this game -including a worldie from the edge of the area into the top corner – and is now back with Villa after a year at Inter Milan.
Wayne Rooney
Rooney went on to become the club’s leading scorer in history with 253 goals before leaving the club in 2017.
He also scored 53 goals for England in a stellar international career and now manages Championship crisis club Derby.
Between that and the Wagatha Christie row – Rooney is still making headlines.
Danny Welbeck
Still just 30 years of age and playing for Brighton in the Premier League, Welbeck burst onto the scene as an exciting young prospect in 2008.
He never made it as a club great, but his form was good enough to earn him a move to… Arsenal, of all places.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
