In a recent interview with Sky Sports, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright shed some light on how Arsenal strategized to deal with the threat posed by Manchester United's forward, Eric Cantona, during Premier League matches in the late 20th century. Cantona was one of the standout players of the 90s Premier League era, and Arsenal had to come up with a game plan to contain him.

The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United has been intense since a clash at Old Trafford in 1990. Under the tenure of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal from 1996, the competition between the two clubs intensified. Cantona retired in 1997, during a brief overlap period with Wenger's time at Arsenal, where Ian Wright was a key striker for the Gunners.

Wright revealed in the Sky Bet interview that to defend against Cantona, his teammates would aim to deny the Frenchman space on the ball.

According to Wright, "One of the things we had to do when facing Cantona was not to give him too much space. We couldn't allow Cantona to have comfortable control of the ball because if I were playing for Manchester United and Cantona had a lot of space to receive the ball, I would want to pass it to him right away."

"Our plan was always to ensure that as soon as he received the ball, we would immediately double-team and pressurize him. Later on, it evolved to the point where we would double-team and mark him even when he didn't have the ball, making it uncomfortable for him to receive passes."

"Before Wenger took over as coach, our defensive strategy against Cantona was already tight. After Wenger came on board, we played a few games where he became familiar with Cantona's traits because they were both French, and he outlined specific tactics for us to disrupt Cantona."

Facing Arsenal a total of 9 times in his career, Cantona emerged victorious in 4 matches, drew 4, and suffered 1 loss against the Gunners. In those 9 encounters, Cantona scored 2 goals, provided an assist, was once sent off, and scored a spectacular goal.

In a surprising move, the 31-year-old Old Trafford king chose to retire in the summer of 1997, leaving behind a legacy that will forever be remembered by football fans across the world.