Rivalry with Wenger became toxic because of Henry - Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary manager of

, claimed that the rivalry between him and Arsene Wenger became "toxic" during their time in the Premier League.

Ferguson made Manchester United the best English team in the late 1990s and won many trophies, but Arsene Wenger was able to turn

into a strong rival and snatched the trophy twice from Old Trafford in 2002 and 2004. Thierry Henry was the star of those Highbury days, scoring 175 goals in 285 Premier League games and greatly influencing Wenger's success. Now Ferguson talked about the rivalry between himself and Wenger and the process he went through.

He told

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"It became toxic for a while. The big change that made Arsenal was reinventing Henry. And the goals…he was fantastic.

"You're always looking in the rearview mirror to see who's coming up behind you, and when you see someone you accelerate.

"Arsenal were catching us up, and their team was good enough to go above us, there's no question about that."

Arsenal won the Premier League without a defeat in the 2003-04 season, and Ferguson praised the achievement. He added:

"I won 13 leagues but I was never near going through a season undefeated. The achievement stands above everything else, and it was Arsene's."

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