'He was devastated' - Ruud van Nistelrooy's reaction in dressing room after scoring in Manchester United win

16.10.2022 - 09:43 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Manchester United fans don't need to be reminded about the identity of the Premier League's current top goalscorer. Clue: he's a big Norwegian who plays for Manchester City and he's virtually wrapped up this season's Golden Boot award already.

It's an indication of United's demise how long they've gone without a Golden Boot winner. It's nearly a decade since Robin van Persie scooped 26 league strikes in a phenomenal 2012/23 season, which was also the last time United won the league.

A decade before that it was another Dutchman in United colours who made it his personal obsession to win the prize and, between 2001 and 2006, enjoyed a rivalry with Arsenal's Thierry Henry that drove both men to greater heights.

And it often went beyond the professional, equalling the ferocity of the Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira rivalry that dominated United and Arsenal contests in the same era.

This is the story of the Premier League's first and best striker rivalry.

READ MORE: The year long transfer battle that helped United sign their 'great assassin'

Sir Alex Ferguson was renowned for refreshing his teams even when they'd just won the league title, and the turn of the millennium was no different. Fresh off a treble in 1999 and comfortable title wins in 2000 and 2001, United welcomed big-money signings in the summer of 2001, paying £28m and £19m for Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy respectively.

Adding the Argentine to the famed midfield quartet of Keane, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs was dubbed problematic by some. They didn't see where he would fit into the side.

But along with the signing of Van Nistelrooy — who would have arrived 12 months sooner had it not been for a knee injury — and the sanctioned