IT IS the confrontation they thought had been consigned to history – but "the epic" is back.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, toe-to-toe for a place in the Champions League final, with the first leg between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford tonight.
Both managers have endured sticky moments over the last few years since th
eir rivalry was at its height, only to meet again on the biggest stage.
Ferguson is aiming to defend the Premier League and Champions League double United won so memorably last year while Arsenal have salvaged a season that seemed on the rocks and could yet clinch the European Cup for the first time.
"You had me out of the door three years ago," smiled Ferguson, as he assessed the criticism Wenger has had to endure. "You had me in a bath chair down on Torquay beach. That is the cynical world we are in. But Arsène has always kept his principles the same. His consistency hasn't changed and Arsenal have reaped the rewards."
If recent evidence is to be believed, these two old stagers of Premier League combat have put away their fighting tools and are now happy to hug.
After all, there are many common threads; a commitment to passing football, a willingness to embrace youth and a refusal to abandon tradition. Above everything else, they share a hunger and fierce determination to win. "I like the way they play and also in their use of young players," said Ferguson. "The history and tradition of both clubs has been the highest for years now.
"We always looked over our shoulders at Arsenal and they looked over their shoulders at us. Now we have Chelsea banging on the door. This season Liverpool are making a big effort.
"Our league is very tough. The top four are probably the best teams in Europe. That is shown in the fact we have three teams in the semi-finals again. But ourselves and Arsenal have certainly been the dominant forces. Those epic times are back with us and I am looking forward to a great match."
The similarities are so great, had either club been slightly quicker off the mark, their respective line-ups tomorrow night could have been wearing shirts of the opposition. Wenger was very keen on getting a young Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon, only to discover United had made the first move. Ferguson was equally attracted to Cesc Fabregas when the Spanish midfielder was a youngster on the books at Barcelona.
"Fabregas is a wonderful footballer," said Ferguson. "You are always interested in the best young players but we didn't have a chance to sign him. Arsène was under the carpet before me."
Nevertheless, Ferguson has seen enough of the Spain midfielder to be wary even before Fabregas' two goals against Middlesbrough at the Emirates stadium on Sunday. "He has taken a few games to get his rhythm back (after injury] but he did very well," said the United manager.
Dangers abound for Ferguson's side. Emmanuel Adebayor, another player Ferguson had an admiring eye on earlier in his career, is clearly a threat, while the Scot is placing his trust in Patrice Evra to do a better job of subduing the threat of Theo Walcott than he has managed with Tottenham's Aaron Lennon in a couple of meetings in recent weeks. "Walcott is very quick, probably the quickest forward in England at the moment," said Ferguson. "But Patrice has played against him a few times. We are all right with that."
With John O'Shea's experience set to earn the Irishman selection at right-back ahead of young Brazilian full-back Rafael, Ferguson's dilemma is over the offensive part of his line-up.
Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney could be used in wider positions, as they were so successfully in Porto, although midfielder Park Ji-sung's energy could also come into play, allowing newly-crowned PFA player of the year Giggs to take up a more central station behind Ronaldo.
When United lost 2-1 to Arsenal in the league in November, Ferguson left the Emirates declaring he had just witnessed one of the most high-quality games of his life. The excellence is likely to be just as high tonight. But Old Trafford is set for a much cagier affair. "It could be a cracker," admitted Ferguson. "Looking at the tie and the players, you almost think this is a perfect semi-final. It is full of terrific footballers and has an appetising look about it."
Ferguson does not expect either side to put the tie to bed at the first attempt. "It won't be decided (tonight]. I feel sure there will be a lot of football still to be played at the Emirates."
FERGIE v WENGERSIR Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have met 37 times in competitive action. More often than not, the rivalry has spilled over into verbal sparring.
WENGER ON FERGUSON"Never again will I speak about that man." – Wenger seeks to step away from the feud with Ferguson which erupted after a fiery league clash in October 2004.
"I'm ready to take the blame for all the problems of English football if that is what he wants." – Wenger responds after Ferguson questions Arsenal's lack of homegrown players.
"Ferguson should calm down. Maybe it would have been better if he had put us against a wall and shot us." – More fallout from the testy October 2004 encounter.
"Ferguson's out of order. He has lost all sense of reality. He is going out looking for a confrontation, then asking the person he is confronting to apologise. He's pushed the cork in a bit far this time and lost a lot of credibility by saying what he said." – More bickering from January 2005.
FERGUSON ON WENGER"They say he's an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages. I've got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages." – Ferguson plays down Wenger's linguistic dexterity in 2003.
"It's certainly not wrong that you should be seen to have a proportion of home-based players. I totally agree with that. But it would be a problem for a club like Arsenal." – Ferguson has a dig at Arsenal's foreign policy.
"Their behaviour was the worst thing I have seen in this sport. They got off scot-free." – Arsenal anger Ferguson in 2004/05.
"In the tunnel Wenger was criticising my players, calling them cheats, so I told him to leave them alone and behave himself. He ran at me with hands raised saying: 'What do you want to do about it?' It's a disgrace, but I don't expect Wenger to ever apologise, he's that type of person." – Ferguson lets fly in January 2005.
