Arsenal icon Ray Parlour has revealed that he always looked out for clashes against Manchester United when the Premier League fixture list was released every season.
Arsenal and Manchester United were the dominating forces in English football around a decade ago and the two teams shared a fierce rivalry at the time, with their encounters against each other often turning into heated battles both on and off the pitch.
Parlour was a key figure in the Arsenal side during the peak of the Gunners' rivalry with Manchester United and the club legend has revealed that games against the Red Devils were the ones he looked out for eagerly when the Premier League fixture list rolled out every season.
The former midfielder told the Arsenal Player: "It was Manchester United always, that was our big game. Looking back at 1998, that was a top side then and if you look at their midfield, they had David Beckham on the right, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs - they had a wonderful midfield.
"They were always the games we had to win, or maybe get four points from - win at home, draw away from home and you had every chance of winning the league.
"Obviously the White Hart Lane derby is always important from the fans' point of view. These days it is a lot tougher because Spurs have improved a lot, but I think the players will look at all the games now because it is so tight.
"But when I played, Manchester United was the team that we thought that if we could get one over on them [it would be vital]. When we played them home and away was important as well, say if we were playing them in March we knew we would have to win that game to maybe secure the title."