Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown admits he had trust issues when it came to Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The pair clashed in the "Battle of Old Trafford" back in 2003 after the Manchester United forward had missed a late penalty.
Prior to that the Dutchman had played his part in Patrick Vieira's sending off which saw the clash reach boiling point.
And while Keown acknowledged Van Nistelrooy's quality he certainly had reservations about him when they played.
"I shook hands with him in the FA Cup semi-final and I had a chance to speak with him. He seemed ok with it, but we had a history," he told BT Sport's Early Kick-Off.
"There had been a few incidents between me and him. It was about trusting your opponent. I liked to play against people I could trust.
"He would collapse in the box like a pack of cards. He was quite a tough individual, he was a great goalscorer - he could really sniff out chances, but it's a trust thing as well. So when it came to that game he got Vieira sent off and it kind of exploded."
Van Nistelrooy's miss from 12 yards grew in significance as Arsenal went on to complete an unbeaten season.
'The Invincibles' could've tasted defeat in their sixth league game had the United striker scored.
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But in a period where the Gunners and the Red Devils regularly competed for the title Keown has hailed the "special spirit" of the north London side.
He continued: "That game has been talked about an awful lot, it reminds me of the special spirit that players had, me and Ray Parlour... the French guys followed us into battle, there was a togetherness and a tenacity to win.
"We went to Old Trafford in those days - the aura that those players had, it was so difficult to get anything. They dominated football for so many years, we were wrestling it away again and by 2004 we'd done it.
"They weren't happy and it kicked off, it always did when we played Manchester United but I have the ultimate respect for them."
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