Manchester United’s treble winning triumph in 1999 was more difficult to achieve that Manchester City in 2023.
That’s according to talkSPORT’s Martin Keown, with comparisons between the two imperious sides beginning to be made.
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City completed the treble on Saturday night when they beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
They won the FA Cup just seven days prior and had also lifted their third consecutive Premier League title weeks before.
Pep Guardiola’s side have become the second team to achieve such a feat after United, who sealed their famous treble 24 years ago.
Both sides are worthy winners of their respective success, but Arsenal legend Keown believes it was a harder task for United to achieve.
Speaking on White and Jordan, Keown said: “No one laid claim to the successes of the previous treble which was 1999, United.
“I’m pretty certain that domestic rivalry brings out the best in you and makes you go to another level. Now, City were somewhat behind Arsenal, Arsenal were just incredible in the league and it fell away for Arsenal.
“But in a way, maybe it got City to change gear, got Pep to get even better, got him to look at playing [John] Stones in a midfield role which he wasn’t playing, was he, before the World Cup?
“After the World Cup everything changed, so they kind of slid into another gear and you do have to have that domestic rivalry, I think Liverpool have fallen away a little bit in recent times.
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“I think actually maybe what United did to compare, with Arsenal having won the double just the year before, maybe it was more of an achievement for United because domestically it was more difficult then.
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“Just two or three years later we [Arsenal] won another double, so they were in and around a team that was really pushing them on their own doorstep, United.
“Whereas City, once Arsenal fell over, it was pretty easy for them to do what they do. But, I do feel this is just the beginning, this is the beginning of what they have.
“When I look at the quality of their squad and you know he’s [Guardiola] going to buy again, and he knows he’s looking over his shoulder, he’s got that bang, it’s in the cabinet, off we go.”
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