At the peak of the rivalry between the two clubs and their respective managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, a goalless draw finished in ugly scenes as Van Nistelrooy’s missed penalty late on was followed by the Dutch forward being confronted by a raft of angry Arsenal players.
Martin Keown has apologised to Ruud van Nistelrooy for the notorious clash between the pair at Old Trafford in 2003 after they renewed acquaintances at Leicester on Saturday.
The TNT Sports pundit Keown was at the King Power Stadium to cover Leicester’s Premier League home fixture with Arsenal and caught up with Foxes boss Van Nistelrooy before kick-off.
Keown and Van Nistelrooy came to blows during a memorable encounter between the Gunners and Manchester United 22 years ago dubbed the “Battle of Old Trafford”.
Keown led the chaotic full-time scenes when he jumped up next to Van Nistelrooy and barged into his back, which sparked a melee between both sets of players.
