Wenger Still Hunted By The 1999 FA Cup Loss To Manchester United

The jubilant scene of Manchester United fans celebrating their dramatic victory, in the 1999 FA Cup semi final against his team, is still fresh in Wenger's memory.

 Arsenal, lost in dramatic fashion to a Ryan Giggs wonder goal, in the 1999 edition of the FA Cup. The match was tied at 1-1 in normal time. But a characteristic second yellow card for a reckless challenge by Roy Keane gave Arsenal the advantage. Arsenal, with a man advantage and stoppage time on the clock, had the opportunity to kill the game once and for all in normal time. They were given a last minute penalty.  The culprit, Phil Neville, with a nervous tackle on Ray Parlour. Stepping up was Dennis Bergkamp,with what seemed like the mere formality of converting and putting his side through. But he missed.It left Manchester United with a puncher's chance of winning the match. And that was exactly what happened. Ryan Giggs delivered the knockout punch with a tremendous display of speed, skill and wit, taking Arsenal out with a goal regarded as one of the best in FA Cup history.

 Wenger still laments that day till date.
'I can still hear the shouts of that team - they couldn't believe it because they were down to 10 men.'
'They then won the title, just'. 'I think that goal won them the Treble because if Bergkamp scores, the game is over. It was a trauma for us in a negative way and for them a lift in a positive way. Bergkamp never wanted to take a penalty again, and it put them on the road towards success.'

The two sides will meet again on Monday. And the game promises to be another exciting encounter, as the FA Cup represents both teams only realistic chance of silverware this season. I can't wait for it.