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      Where Arsenal’s final XI to play at Highbury 15 years ago are now, including Thierry Henry as a manager

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      ARSENAL bid farewell to Highbury 15 years ago and leapfrogged Tottenham to secure fourth-place in the Premier League and a Champions League spot.
      A 4-2 victory over Wigan saw the Gunners close the book on their home of 93 years in fitting manner, with Thierry Henry bagging a hat-trick.

      And it was the end of an era in many other ways as Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Jose Antonio Reyes and Ashley Cole left the club the following summer having each collected multiple winners’ medals in North London.
      The club had plenty to celebrate and did so in style after the comeback win over Wigan – in part earning revenge for Jason Roberts’ last-ditch away goal that secured the Latics’ League Cup final spot earlier that season.
      The result also marked a triumphant rise to the final Champions League qualification place, thanks to Tottenham’s lasagne-instigated defeat at West Ham.
      Here, SunSport details where the starting XI from that day are now.

      GK: JENS LEHMANN
      Jens Lehmann has Henry to thank for scrubbing David Thompson’s long-range free-kick that ignominiously beat the goalkeeper from the history books.
      Two years later, the German departed Arsenal for Bundesliga side Stuttgart but came out of retirement amid a Gunners injury crisis to face Blackpool in 2011 – at the age of 41.
      Lehmann then completed his second return to Emirates Stadium as part of Wenger’s backroom team in 2017 but is now working as a pundit after a spell as Manuel Baum’s assistant at Augsburg.

      Henry capped the final game with a sensational hat-trickCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The Gunners celebrate beating Tottenham to fourth as they closed HighburyCredit: Reuters

      RB: EMMANUEL EBOUE
      Ivorian defender Emmanuel Eboue took over from Invincibles hero Lauren during the 2005-06 campaign and endured a terrible time after his career went downhill.

      A one-year Fifa ban after refusing to pay an agent left the player broken and his attempt to return to the game with Cypriot side Turk Ocagi Limasol was abandoned due to ‘serious medical problems’.
      Then, in 2018, he was arrested and cleared over a suspected arson attack in North London with Eboue since opening up on how money trouble led him to consider taking his own life.

      Eboue had a rough time of it after leaving ArsenalCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      CB: KOLO TOURE
      Spells with Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic completed a hugely successful career for Kolo Toure.
      After hanging up his boots and achieving further fame as one half of the famous Toure brothers chant, he began his coaching career with the Ivory Coast national team.
      Brendan Rodgers gave Toure a job a Celtic in September 2017 and the pair have never looked back, the former centre-back joining his boss in moving to Leicester in 2019.
      CB: SOL CAMPBELL
      The playing career of Sol Campbell was far from straightforward after he left Arsenal that summer, heading to cash-strapped Portsmouth as their finances collapsed.
      Although he won the FA Cup on the South Coast, the centre-back sued the club for £1.7million before an ill-fated move to Notts County, joining Sven Goran Eriksson before the League Two side’s Middle Eastern investment also fell apart.
      Campbell played just once for County before a second Arsenal stint and the ex-Southend manager’s difficulty in getting a coaching career off the ground led to him becoming an outspoken critic of game bosses.
      LB: ASHLEY COLE
      A two-time league title winner at Highbury, Cole angered Gunners fans when joining rivals Chelsea in 2006.
      The left-back claimed another Premier League as well as a Champions League and four FA Cup winners’ medals in West London, ending his career under old team-mate Frank Lampard at Derby.
      Since retiring, Cole set his sights on becoming a coach and rejoined Chelsea as part of their academy staff and regularly appears on Sky Sports as a pundit.
      RM: ALEXANDER HLEB
      Few expected Alexander Hleb to jump back into the headlines during the coronavirus pandemic, but the Belarusian did just that when his country’s footballing system refused to close while its European counterparts shut up shop.
      The 39-year-old was an outspoken critic at the Belarusian Premier League’s insistence on carrying on.
      And it was in his home country where Hleb saw out his playing days, turning out for Isloch Minsk Raion following post-Arsenal spells with Barcelona, Birmingham and BATE Borisov.
      CM: CESC FABREGAS
      One of the few men on the pitch that day still playing, Cesc Fabregas is currently signed to Ligue 1 side Monaco.
      And not many can match the playmaker’s trophy haul since Highbury’s closure either, with a World Cup, two European Championships, a LaLiga title, Premier League and FA Cup added to his trophy cabinet.
      Nowadays, the 33-year-old actively engages with fans on social media and cannot resist taking the odd dig at Tottenham.
      CM: GILBERTO SILVA
      Brazilian anchor man Gilberto left Arsenal in 2008 and retired seven years later after playing in Greece and back in his home country.
      Initially spending seven months as technical director at old club Panathinaikos, he has worked as a TV pundit and after-dinner speaker.
      But Silva’s main role now is that of a footballing consultant, most notably advising fellow Brazilian midfielder Fred as he made the move to Manchester United.

      It was French winger Pires who popped up with the opener against WiganCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      LM: ROBERT PIRES
      Henry stole the show with a hat-trick against Wigan to leave Robert Pires’ early opener – a far from typical poacher’s effort – largely forgotten.
      The winger’s last game for Arsenal came in the subsequent Champions League final where Lehmann’s early red card saw him substituted for replacement Manuel Almunia.
      When a brief sojourn to Indian football with FC Goa in 2014 ended, Pires joined the Gunners backroom staff and he now works as a pundit and ambassador for the game.
      ST: JOSE ANTONIO REYES
      When driving with his cousins near Seville in 2019, Jose Antonio Reyes was involved in a car crash that killed the former striker and Jonathan Reyes, leaving fellow passenger Juan Manuel Calderon in intensive care.
      Tributes flooded in for the Spaniard, who was still playing at the time with Segunda Division team Extremadura.
      Strike partner Henry describing Reyes as a ‘wonderful player, superb team-mate and exceptional human being’ as a police report confirmed a tyre failure at high speed.
      ST: THIERRY HENRY
      A year after his iconic kiss of the Highbury turf having completed his hat-trick past Wigan, Henry accepted a move to LaLiga giants Barcelona.
      It was at the Nou Camp where he played an integral part in Spain’s first-ever treble winners under Pep Guardiola – going on to end his career in the MLS.
      The Frenchman coached in the Arsenal academy and alongside Roberto Martinez with Belgium ahead of his breakout opportunity at Monaco, although that did not go to plan at all and he left after three months with the Ligue 1 side 19th.
      He is now manager of MLS side CF Montreal.

      SUBSTITUTES
      A hero’s welcome for Dennis Bergkamp marked his final appearance in football at Highbury and he spent many years in the Ajax setup before leaving in December 2017.
      Likewise, Freddie Ljungberg is now a coach most recently seen in temporary charge of the Gunners following Unai Emery’s sacking.
      Robin van Persie infamously left Arsenal for Manchester United after reaching stardom at the Emirates and is now a pundit for BT Sport.
      Manuel Almunia retired from playing due to a heart condition in 2014 and Johan Djourou took Swiss club FC Sion to court after refusing a pay cut amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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      Mikel Arteta vows to bring passion back to Arsenal vs Man Utd after infamous no-holds barred clashes of years gone by

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      MIKEL ARTETA wants to bring the passion back into football’s feistiest fixture but admits the modern game simply won’t tolerate history repeating itself.
      Arsenal versus Manchester United was once renowned as the most fiercely contested match in the English calendar.

      Mikel Arteta wants to bring the passion back to Arsenal’s clashes with Man UtdCredit: Reuters

      Mikel Arteta spent five years as an Arsenal player and never featured on the winning side against Man UtdCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd

      From an infamous 21-man Old Trafford brawl to Keane vs Vieira in the old Highbury tunnel, this was a guaranteed clash of the titans with no holds barred.
      But things have calmed down considerably since Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger retired from the managerial ring.
      And now the two teams which once dominated the Premier League are fighting just to remain relevant in the modern era.
      Arteta spent five years as an Arsenal player and never featured on the winning side against United.

      But all the old animosities had gone by then and today’s encounter at an empty Emirates is sure to be played out in relative peace.
      Arteta admits: “It’s not only the Arsenal and Manchester United fixtures which have calmed down.
      “If you look at the way all the derbies used to get played, it’s not the same right now.
      “The game is evolving and we are educating the players in a different way.

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      Martin Keown confronts Ruud van Nistelrooy after his famous missed penalty in 2003’s ‘Battle of Old Trafford’Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

      “For sure they are not allowed to get away with some of the things they used to do 20 years ago and with VAR that’s even less.
      “The game is much more controlled and policed these days so you know you can’t get away with certain things.”
      Yet the former midfielder who also competed in the Glasgow and Merseyside derbies believes there is still room in the modern game for a tribal mentality to exist.
      He says: “You need to have a passion to defend your position and show you much you want to succeed.
      “That’s part of a winning mentality, for sure. 
      “In the past this match was about desire because both teams were convinced they were better than the other side and much stronger than all the other teams in the League.

      Things have calmed down since Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger retired Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      “They had the depth of squad and quality that meant that the other teams couldn’t get anywhere near them.
      “They knew they were the only two candidates to win the League and that is where the rivalry came from,
      “But that’s not happening now because there are six or seven teams who are capable of winning the title and that’s the difference to ten years ago.”
      It was back in October 1990 that this fixture first exploded when Arsenal were docked two points and United one following the mass-brawl which involved every single player but David Seaman.
      But it was when Wenger arrived to challenge Ferguson’s Premier League dominance that things really got heated.
      Martin Keown, Lauren, Patrick Vieira and Ray Parlour were all banned while Christiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Ashley Cole were fined following an explosive Old Trafford clash in September 2003.
      ⚽ Read our Arsenal live blog for the latest news from The Emirates

      The bitter rivals shared an explosive Old Trafford clash in September 2003Credit: Simon Wilkinson

      Patrick Viera and Roy Keane famously clashed… over and over
      A year later it all kicked off again when United ended Arsenal’s 48-match unbeaten League run in controversial fashion.
      Ferguson was hit by a flying pizza thrown by Cesc Fabregas and Ruud van Nistelrooy was handed a retrospective three-game ban.
      So tempers were already boiling over for the return match at Highbury in February 2005, when rival captains Keane and Vieira infamously clashed in the tunnel before the game had even kicked-off.
      But with Arteta and nice-guy Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now in the dug-outs, today’s meeting will be far more respectful.
      Arsenal will once again be without captain and star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has missed training this week to be with his ill mother.
      But Arteta will otherwise name a full strength team after being condemned for rotating his squad during last week’s FA Cup defeat at Southampton.

      Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty beat Man Utd earlier in the seasonCredit: AFP or Licensors
      He said: “The criticism came because we lost the game and then people wanted to find a reason for that.
      “We made so many changes when we played at Anfield in the Carabao Cup but we beat Liverpool.
      “We went to Leicester in the next round and made a lot of changes and we beat them as well.
      “And we played in the Europa League and won all six games with a completely different team and suddenly everyone was saying those players needed a chance in the Premier League.
      “So I know I am not going to please everybody. Only if you win. If you don’t, these things are going to come back at you.
      “I don’t know what I would have done last week at Southampton if everyone was fit.
      “But I do know we didn’t make seven changes. Five players could not play that game to start with.”

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      Arsenal outcast Ainsley Maitland-Niles wanted by West Brom in loan transfer as Sam Allardyce ‘pushes hard’ for full-back

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      ARSENAL are reportedly contemplating sending Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan to aid West Brom’s relegation fight.
      The full-back has dropped back in Mikel Arteta’s plans since starring in last year’s FA Cup final and Community Shield triumphs.

      Ainsley Maitland-Niles is again being linked with an Arsenal exitCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Those displays helped earn the 23-year-old his first England caps but he has not started a league game that Arsenal would go on to win since the opening day of the season.
      According to The Athletic, a loan move away could be on the horizon with West Brom very interested in a deal.
      Maitland-Niles’ versatility, as an option in both midfield and defence, is said to be attracting Sam Allardyce.
      The Gunners have reservations on dropping him in a survival scrap however, with the Baggies seven points from safety going into Saturday’s huge game against Fulham.

      It is not the first time he has been linked with an exit, with Wolves said to be near a deal last summer before Arteta pulled the plug.
      A team currently inside the top-four is also reportedly keen on Maitland-Niles yet they must complete other deals before turning their attention to the Arsenal academy product.

      Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Leicester sit in the Champions League places ahead of the weekend, with the Foxes the most feasible team to be chasing Maitland-Niles.
      Winger Demarai Gray is nearing a move away from the King Power and the top-four bidder is thought to be favoured by Arsenal.

      Arteta has overseen a fresh overhaul of his squad in January, moving out five first-team players and signing two.
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      Trimming the defence has been of particular importance with Sead Kolasinac and William Saliba loaned out before Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ contract was cancelled.
      The club are reportedly interested in bringing in a new left-back, a position Maitland-Niles has at times occupied.
      A move for Ryan Bertrand has been touted with the Southampton star out of contract in June, but the deal is described as unlikely.
      ⚽ Read our Arsenal live blog for the latest news from The Emirates

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      Arsenal verdict: Emile Smith Rowe’s injury jinx strikes again after superb performance

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      EMILE SMITH ROWE must wish he could simply catch a break after his injuries woes struck again – just as he was becoming “irreplaceable” in this Arsenal side.
      The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is considered by many astute judges to be one of the Gunners’ most exciting young talents emerging from a thriving and productive academy set-up.

      Emile Smith Rowe leaving the field against Southampton Credit: Getty Images – Getty

      ⚽ Read our Arsenal live blog for the latest news from The Emirates
      Even tonight two former England defenders felt compelled to give him significant praise following a committed display against Southampton in the No.10 role behind Alexandre Lacazette.
      But just as Rowe was starting to bed into the first team and feel comfortable, seemingly free of any physical issues he has endured in the past, he finished the evening being seen by the club medical staff.
      And the Croydon-born ace spent the final 20 minutes or so watching the action from the St Mary’s stands.

      Arsenal chief Mikel Arteta says he came off with “muscular discomfort” and couldn’t give any reassurances that he would be fit this weekend.
      Rowe’s first-team opportunities have been stunted by injuries, and it was only last month that he truly broke through into the Premier League and made his name.
      Two goals in 12 matches have repaid the confidence and trust shown in him by Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta – and his importance to this side cannot be underestimated.
      Certainly he has shown more ambition and intent than his 72-minute replacement, the Brazilian international Willian, who has simply not delivered to expectations since switching from Chelsea to Arsenal.

      It might not be any consolation now, especially if he ends up missing the tasty Manchester United clash on Sunday.
      But for Rowe’s family watching at home, they would have delighted to hear the comments of Rio Ferdinand and Martin Keown.
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      Both have seen their fair share of talented youngsters in football down the years, and both were very impressed by what they saw.
      Ferdinand, winner of six Premier League titles and a Champions League with Manchester United, said: “What I like about Emile is his smoothness in which he plays.
      “He glides across the pitch. He is one player who makes others look better by the way he plays.
      “He feeds people. He can take the ball in tight areas. And he is someone I feel he will be a mainstay in years to come in this team.”
      Keown, the former Arsenal defender, and a member of the 2004 Invincibles, reckons his loss will be a major blow to Arteta’s short-term ambitions, arguing that he is fundamental to how the side tick.
      He said: “I can remember a few years ago when Jack Wilshere said he saw it early in training, knowing he would be something special.
      “Sometimes the players know that first when they see a youngster come into the group. He is living the dream at the moment.
      “The importance of seeing youngsters come through the academy is inspiring to others. He has had the perfect development going into this level.”

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