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1998 FA Charity Shield

The match programme cover
Arsenal Manchester United 3 0
Date	9 August 1998
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match	Marc Overmars (Arsenal)
Referee	Graham Poll (Hertfordshire)
Attendance	67,342
Weather	Clear 22 °C (72 °F)
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The 1998 FA Charity Shield (known as the AXA FA Charity Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 76th FA Charity Shield, an annual English football match organised by The Football Association and played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. It was contested on 9 August 1998 by Arsenal – who won a league and FA Cup double the previous season – and Manchester United – who finished runners-up in the league. Watched by a crowd of 67,342 at Wembley Stadium, Arsenal won the match 3–0.

This was Manchester United's 18th Charity Shield appearance to Arsenal's 14th. Manchester United began the game more strongly, but Arsenal took the lead when Marc Overmars scored 11 minutes before half-time. They extended their lead in the second half, as Overmars and Nicolas Anelka found Christopher Wreh, who put the ball into an empty net at the second attempt. In the 72nd minute, Arsenal scored a third goal, when Anelka got around Jaap Stam in the penalty box and shot the ball past goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

Arsenal's victory marked Manchester United's first Shield defeat in seven matches. The clubs later faced each other in the FA Cup semi-final, which was won by Manchester United in a replay. Manchester United finished the league season one point ahead of Arsenal and went on to win the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, thereby completing a treble of trophies in the 1998–99 season.

Background

Founded in 1908 as a successor to the Sheriff of London Charity Shield, the FA Charity Shield began as a contest between the respective champions of the Football League and Southern League, although in 1913 it was played between an Amateurs XI and a Professionals XI. In 1921, it was played by the league champions of the top division and FA Cup winners for the first time. Wembley Stadium acted as the host of the Shield from 1974.

Arsenal qualified for the 1998 FA Charity Shield as winners of the 1997–98 FA Premier League. Although they were 12 points behind league leaders Manchester United by the end of February 1998, a nine-match winning streak, culminating in a 4–0 win over Everton on 3 May 1998, ensured Arsenal won the title. Arsenal beat Newcastle United 2–0 in the 1998 FA Cup Final to complete the domestic double. Given they won both honours, the other Charity Shield place went to league runners-up Manchester United.

The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the Premier League on 14 March 1998, when a second-half goal by Marc Overmars gave Arsenal a 1–0 win at Old Trafford. Arsenal were the only team in the 1997–98 league to beat United home and away, with the corresponding home fixture ending 3–2. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger acknowledged the Shield game was the "only opportunity to play our first-team men together against top-class opposition" before their league campaign commenced the following week. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was preoccupied with the club's match against ŁKS Łódź in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League three days later. He felt the contest with Arsenal would get his "players' sharpness up and provide plenty of benefit" for their upcoming matches.

The match was officially referred to as "The AXA FA Charity Shield" as part of a sponsorship deal between The Football Association and French insurance group AXA, agreed in July 1998. The deal also saw the FA Cup referred to as "The AXA Sponsored FA Cup" for its four-year duration.

Match

Team selection

Manchester United winger and new signing Jesper Blomqvist was ruled out of the match with an ankle injury, but Roy Keane was declared fit to start his first competitive match since damaging his ligaments against Leeds United in September 1997. Defender Jaap Stam, who signed for United in May 1998, made his competitive debut for the club, partnering centre-back Ronny Johnsen. For Arsenal, new signing Nelson Vivas began the match on the substitutes' bench, in spite of being expected to make his full debut, while Dennis Bergkamp started alongside Nicolas Anelka up front.

Arsenal employed a 4–4–2 formation typical of the era: a four-man defence (comprising two centre-backs, a left and right back), four midfielders (two in the centre, and one on each wing) and two centre forwards. Manchester United organised themselves slightly differently from Arsenal, in that Paul Scholes played ahead of the midfield, in a supporting role behind the main striker, Andy Cole. The team lined up in a 4–4–1–1 formation.

Summary

Manchester United's midfield coped well in the opening minutes against Arsenal's pair Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit, who both took longer to get into the match, having taken part in France's successful World Cup campaign. United fashioned their first chance through David Beckham, who received boos throughout the match – many fans blamed him for England's elimination from the 1998 World Cup. His cross-field pass met Ryan Giggs, who failed to control the ball but clipped into Scholes, whose attempt forced Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman to clear. In spite of United's promising start, it was Arsenal who scored the opening goal. Bergkamp received the ball from Vieira, who chipped it over the United defence. The striker ran and back-heeled the ball to Anelka, who then blocked Johnsen's attempt to clear. The ball broke to Overmars – from inside the penalty area, he flicked the ball for the first time past Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. A shot by Keane from 25 yards (23 m) prompted a save from Seaman in the 42nd minute.

Arsenal began dominating in the second half, with right-sided players Lee Dixon and Ray Parlour threatening to score. In the 57th minute, Arsenal increased their lead; from the left wing, Overmars used his pace to get the better of Gary Neville and passed the ball to Anelka, which drew in Stam. Anelka in turn transferred it to Christopher Wreh, whose shot was saved once by Schmeichel, but not on the rebound. In spite of the setback, United continued to pressure Arsenal; defender Martin Keown nearly put the ball into his own net from Giggs' corner that Johnsen flicked on. Both clubs made mass substitutions in the final third of the game, notably Teddy Sheringham and Luís Boa Morte coming on for Cole – who rarely threatened – and Petit, respectively. Sheringham wasted United's best chance to score before Arsenal netted a third – Parlour's pass found Anelka, who got around Stam and shot the ball left-footed past Schmeichel, at the goalkeeper's near post.

Details

Arsenal	3–0	Manchester United
Overmars 34' Wreh 57' Anelka 72'	Report

Arsenal

Manchester United

GK 1 David Seaman RB 2 Lee Dixon  81' CB 6 Tony Adams (c)  80' CB 14 Martin Keown  22' LB 3 Nigel Winterburn RM 15 Ray Parlour CM 17 Emmanuel Petit  73' CM 4 Patrick Vieira  84' LM 11 Marc Overmars  67' CF 9 Nicolas Anelka CF 10 Dennis Bergkamp  46' Substitutes: GK 13 Alex Manninger DF 5 Steve Bould  80' DF 7 Nelson Vivas MF 16 Stephen Hughes  67' MF 18 Gilles Grimandi  84' MF 21 Luís Boa Morte  73' FW 12 Christopher Wreh  46' Manager: Arsène Wenger

GK 1 Peter Schmeichel RB 2 Gary Neville  3' CB 5 Ronny Johnsen CB 6 Jaap Stam LB 3 Denis Irwin  26' RM 7 David Beckham CM 8 Nicky Butt  53' CM 16 Roy Keane (c)  76' LM 11 Ryan Giggs  70' CF 18 Paul Scholes  70' CF 9 Andy Cole  70' Substitutes: GK 31 Nick Culkin DF 4 David May DF 12 Phil Neville  79'  70' DF 21 Henning Berg  76' MF 25 Jordi Cruyff  70' FW 10 Teddy Sheringham  70' FW 20 Ole Gunnar Solskjær  53' Manager: Alex Ferguson

Source:

Statistics

Post-match

The result was the first time a southern club in England had won the Shield outright since Tottenham Hotspur in 1962, and was Manchester United's first defeat in seven Shield matches. It was also the ninth time Arsenal had won the Charity Shield. Wenger described the scoreline as "unexpected" and cited the first goal as crucial in the match, given the weather conditions. He was content with how his international players, who had been in the World Cup, coped with the game's physicality. Wenger believed the result gave Arsenal a psychological boost for the Champions League campaign, as the club planned to stage their home matches at Wembley Stadium. Bergkamp felt the result showed that Arsenal had what it took to retain the Premier League title: "We've still got the same mentality and that will be the basis for this year's challenge. This is a good start. It is harder to retain the trophy."

Ferguson admitted his team had been beaten by the better side and agreed with Wenger that the first goal was important. He was pleased that Keane got through the match after 11 months out of action and was confident his team would fare better against ŁKS Łódź, the following Wednesday. Schmeichel felt the upcoming Champions League qualifier was more important than the Charity Shield game, which he considered as a pre-season match. Ferguson anticipated another challenge from Arsenal in the league: "I think you could make a strong case for four teams to challenge for the Premiership but I think Arsenal pose the biggest threat."

Three days after the Charity Shield match, United beat ŁKS Łódź 2–0 and qualified for the Champions League group stage following a goalless match a fortnight later. Arsenal had the upper hand in their two league meetings with United during the season, winning 3–0 at Highbury in September 1998, before a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford in February 1999. The two teams went into the final day of the 1998–99 FA Premier League vying for the title, but United's 2–1 win against Tottenham meant they finished one point above Arsenal. The two sides met twice more that season in the FA Cup semi-final, which was settled in a replay after the original match finished goalless. Manchester United won in extra time – the winning goal scored by Giggs. United then went on to defeat Newcastle United 2–0 in the 1999 FA Cup Final. Whereas Arsenal failed to progress past the group stage of the Champions League, Manchester United went on to reach the final, where they beat Bayern Munich to win the competition for the second time. Ferguson's team therefore completed a treble of trophies in one season.

See also

• 1998–99 Arsenal F.C. season
• 1998–99 Manchester United F.C. season

Notes

1. The Premier League replaced the Football League First Division at the top of the English football pyramid after its inception in 1992.
2. Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone in the second round of the 1998 World Cup against Argentina. His dismissal led to considerable abuse from certain sections of the media and England fans. The player became a scapegoat for the national team's failure to progress, as in the match England were eliminated on penalties.
3. One which is located in the southern counties of England. Initially these were amateur-based clubs, as professionalism in football was not readily accepted, compared with the north. In the 1893–94 season, Arsenal (under its former name Woolwich Arsenal) turned professional and became the first southern club admitted to the northern-oriented Football League. The following year saw the creation of the Southern Football League, which was composed of amateur and professional teams. By the 1920–21 season, the top division of the Southern Football League was absorbed by the Football League, to create its third division.

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