Sport 25-10-2004 Arsenal`s Unbeaten Run Halts At 49 who: Arsenal what: Lose 2-0 to Manchester United where: Old Trafford, MANCHESTER when: Yesterday snippet: "After 49 matches and 17 months of sharing the exuberant beauty of Arsenal`s unbeaten run, we deserved more than to watch it all end in ugliness," says Oliver Holt, The Mirror`s chief sports writer, after Manchester United beat Arsène Wenger`s team 2-0 at Old Trafford yesterday in a very physical encounter. "We had forgotten since the last time it happened so very long ago that The Invincibles are bad losers. Very bad." Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly pelted with food and soup by a disgruntled Arsenal player in the tunnel after the game and much is made in today`s papers over whodunnit and what flavour the soup was (most of the papers say pea, but The Telegraph`s Sam Wallace is saying tomato). "There have been occasions, in Arsenal`s previous 49 Premiership matches, when the luck went with them," says The Independent`s Glenn Moore. "Unfortunately for them it was in the biggest match of the season that the champions found themselves on the wrong end of two decisions by referee Mike Riley which brought Arsenal`s unbeaten run to a halt." It had been all square until the 73rd minute, when Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored United`s opener from the penalty spot following a challenge on Wayne Rooney by Sol Campbell. And in the 90th minute, says the BBC, "Rooney slotted in from six yards to complete victory on his 19th birthday" (incidentally, The Sun reports that he got a £15,000 Franck Muller watch from his girlfriend, but she bought it with his money). Henry Winter of The Telegraph put the blame squarely on one Arsenal hero`s disappointing performance. "Arsenal were handicapped because Thierry Henry was not at the races," he writes. "Henry`s listlessness looked particularly unfortunate when Van Nistelrooy put the hosts ahead. United defended the lead with their lives." [... more]

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