Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira has admitted that he used to relish hostile clashes with Manchester United’s Roy Keane, including an infamous tunnel bust-up at Highbury in 2005.
The two were huge rivals on the pitch in the early 2000s as Arsenal vied with the Red Devils for the dominance of the Premier League.
This led to a few fiery encounters, with Vieira and Keane more often than not being at the heart of those showdowns.
One of the best examples of their uneasy relationship was on display in 2005 as the two title winners clashed in the tunnel of Arsenal’s old home Highbury.
With the Frenchman getting particularly boisterous towards former United defender Gary Neville pre-match, Keane snapped and attempted to confront Vieira.
Talking to itv, the Irishman said: “I think I said to Gary, ‘Just forget about it, we need to focus on the game’. And then, of course, Patrick wouldn’t let it go - typical Arsenal bully and then he started again in the tunnel just before the game started and that’s where I got a little bit irritated.
“Believe it or not, I forgot to put the armband on, so I went back to put it on and when I came down, I got to the end of it. I wasn’t going to listen to Graham Poll, was I? You don’t listen to a referee when you’re in the zone. Patrick knows what was happening.
“It looks worse than what it was. I’m trying to figure out where Gary was, I think Gary is still hiding in the toilets. Because the Arsenal tunnel was so tight, it was even more tense than usual.”
Meanwhile, Vieira has admitted to intentionally trying to rile Neville up but insisted that needle was what attracted him to playing in clashes between the Gunners and Manchester United.
He said: “I think it all started with Roy losing his temper. Before that, the hostility between the two clubs. As an Arsenal player, you always wanted to play against the best and at that time, United were the best team.
"It was challenging, it was tough, it was difficult and obviously Gary here, one of his strengths was intimidating players - that was one of his strengths.
"That time I was getting really, really frustrated about the number of challenges and the aggressiveness he was giving to our players, our front players. As a captain, as a leader, I wanted to put him under pressure a little bit.”
Vieira continued: “We with Roy, especially in the midfield, had some really tough battles. But it’s done with respect because we wanted to win that battle.
"If you want that type of midfield battle, you give a little bit more trust to your teams and players and you have more chance of winning the game. I loved every single game and that moment in the tunnel, it’s one of the reasons I really love the Premier League.”
