On 13 February 1999, Nigerian forward Kanu (tall Gunner below) made a memorable—and controversial—debut for Arsenal; The Gunners had just signed the 22-year old from Inter earlier that month.
The Gunners (FA Cup holders) were hosting Sheffield United (The Blades) in the 5th round of the FA Cup and had taken a 1-0 lead thanks to a 28th-minute goal from midfielder Patrick Vieira. Sheffield United equalized shortly after the break with a 48th-minute header from Brazilian forward Marcelo, so the score was even at 1-1 when Kanu came on in the 66th minute.
With about 10 minutes left in the match, a United player went down with an injury just as Dennis Bergkamp was chasing down a ball played back to the United keeper. The keeper kicked the ball into touch and the official halted play briefly while the injured player received treatment. When Arsenal's Ray Parlour took the ensuing throw, most of the players on the pitch expected him to give possession back to United.
The fifth-round matches were scheduled for 13 February 1999. There were three replays, and one game replayed after Arsenal had beaten Sheffield United in their original tie. However, both sides felt that Arsenal's winning goal had been gained unfairly (read here). Arsenal's boss Arsene Wenger wrote himself into FA Cup folklore with an act of sportsmanship that saw him offer to play the game again, after Marc Overmars scored, following Nwankwo Kanu failure to return the ball to the Blades following an injury.
Nobody told Kanu about this sportsmanship, however, when he received the throwin and raced down the field and crossed the ball for his teammate, winger Marc Overmars ("little one" in photo), to slot home. United's players and staff protested, but the goal stood and Arsenal emerged 2-1 winners.
After the match, Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger agreed that the final goal had been scored unfairly and proposed that the match be replayed. After some initial hesitation, the FA relented and the replay was held ten days later at Highbury, where Arsenal again won 2-1.
When former Gunner, Thierry Henry, later scored a controversial goal for France to eliminate the Republic of Ireland from 2010 World Cup qualification, Wenger urged his home country to offer a replay, but the FFF declined.
Henry's hand ball against the Republic of Ireland was committed on November 18, 2009 in the second leg of their 2010 World Cup playoff. France had won the first leg 1-0 away from home, but were given a big scare when Robbie Keane gave the Irish a 1-0 lead in the return leg in France. The playoff was forced to extra time, when William Gallas scoring the decisive goal in the 103rd minute benefitting from Henry's handball. Henry clearly touched the ball twice with his left hand while looking to control the ball in the box, but the incident was missed by the referee — much to the dismay of the Irish.
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