Wayne Rooney has revealed that one former England team-mate refused to speak to him for more than six months after Manchester United ended Arsenal’s famous unbeaten run.
Rooney was part of the United side that beat Arsenal 2-0 at Old Trafford in September 2004, bringing an end to the Gunners’ 49-match streak and their “Invincibles” season. The match is still remembered for its flashpoints, including Rooney winning a late penalty that Ruud van Nistelrooy converted, before Rooney added a second goal in stoppage time.
Speaking about the fallout from that game, Rooney explained that the reaction from one Arsenal player in the England camp was immediate and long-lasting. He said the team-mate would not speak to him for “over six months” afterwards.
Rooney’s admission sheds new light on how deeply that defeat hurt Arsenal’s squad, even when players were brought together on international duty. He made clear that the silence was tied directly to United’s role in ending the unbeaten run, with emotions from that night carrying into England camps for months.
Arsenal’s 49-game run remains one of the defining achievements of the Premier League era, while the September 2004 clash is viewed as the moment that sequence finally snapped, sparking a rivalry that was already at its peak.
