There is a danger that the ghosts of failed title attempts in the Arsène Wenger era could also appear this weekend. Leeds have stopped Arsenal in their tracks twice before, first in May 1999, when Wenger’s men were top of the table and aiming for their sixth successive league win after arriving at Elland Road on a warm Tuesday night for their penultimate game of the campaign.
However, the defending champions ended up losing 1-0, thanks to a late diving header from Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink, and ultimately ceded their crown to Manchester United by a single point. However, it was an excusable away defeat against a Leeds team that finished fourth. Four years later, the panorama was very different.
Leeds were in danger of relegation when they traveled to Highbury on 4 May 2003, while Arsenal needed a win to prevent United from winning the title. The home team were considered overwhelming favourites, but found themselves a goal down after just five minutes, with Harry Kewell scoring a sensational half-volley that left the Arsenal crowd silent.
Arsenal battled back in an exciting back-and-forth game that was tied at 2-2 with just two minutes remaining as Thierry Henry, Ian Harte and Dennis Bergkamp also scored. But Mark Viduka had the last word, the burly Australian taking the ball on the right flank before eluding Oleh Luzhnyi with an elegant Cruyff turn before curling the ball into the top corner, out of the reach of a helpless David Seaman, unleashing delirium in the away half.
Leeds maintained their famous victory that preserved their Premier League status, while United secured the trophy with two games left. Although the final clash between the two teams will come much earlier in the campaign, current Leeds manager Daniel Farke may have shown his players videos of both games for extra motivation this week.
