'He was pretending to be knocked out!' - the 20-man brawl that sparked Manchester United vs Arsenal rivalry

Manchester United vs Arsenal hasn't always been the spicy affair we've come to know today.

When the two clubs met in January there were murmurings that a United win could see them mount a Premier League title charge. A 3-2 loss put an end to those claims, although fans had momentarily been able to reignite similar passions to the two sides' infamous battles at the top of the Premier League table during the late 90s and early 2000s.

The battles of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, Ruud van Nistelrooy's missed penalty, 'Pizzagate' and Arsene Wenger climbing up the Old Trafford stands are just some of the rivalry's most iconic moments, but the bad blood between the two clubs started long before all of them. United welcomed Arsenal to M16 for a First Division fixture on October 20, 1990 - a day when it all kicked off on the pitch.

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Arsenal were flying high in the league and were in second place, six points behind table-toppers Liverpool. United, meanwhile, were five points behind the Gunners and in sixth in the table.

Just before half-time, Arsenal took the lead as Anders Limpar caught United 'keeper Les Sealey off-guard as he snuck a left-footed cross from the right wing into the bottom corner of the net, and only just over the line after the shot-stopper's failed efforts to save it. But it was in the second half when the game would reach boiling point.

Brian McClair kicked out at Arsenal's Nigel Winterburn after the Gunners defender lunged into a challenge on Denis Irwin - and all hell broke loose. Arsenal players quickly