Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has now claimed that a former Manchester United player was the toughest opponent he ever faced.
Having played for Arsenal 405 times, Vieira also had extensive experience of appearing in the Serie A with Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan.
Across his career, Vieira played in the Champions League 76 times, and the competition was the only one which eluded him in.
But despite all that experience, and all those opponents faced, Vieira remembers his duels with Man United as the most intense.
The rivalry between Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal and Sir Alex Ferguson’s United is still unmatched to this day, the pinnacle of Premier League football in the eyes of many.
And when speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast this week, Vieira was asked to specifically name the toughest opponent he had ever faced.
Of course, there’s a strong contingent of former United players on the podcast, both Gary Neville and Roy Keane on this occasion, and it was the Irishman who Vieira named.
Patrick Vieira says Man United’s Roy Keane was his toughest opponent of all-time
Neville was asking quick-fire questions towards the end of the interview, and simply asked Vieira to choose the hardest opponent he had played against.
And without much hesitation, Vieira chose the United man he so famously duelled with over the years.
Vieira simply replied: “I would say Roy and the United midfield.”
And whilst it’s not too surprising to see Vieira name Keane given all they went through over the years, it’s worth remembering who was playing alongside the £4m-midfielder during those famous battles.
Vieira and Keane’s famous Highbury tunnel spat
Perhaps the most infamous spat between the two came in 2005 in the Highbury tunnel before a Premier League match kicked off.
Vieira needed to be pulled away by his team-mates in the tunnel before the match and then Keane was caught on camera saying: “Shut your mouth you! We’ll see out there. Every week it’s you, and everyone thinks you’re a nice guy.”
On that occasion it was Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes playing alongside Keane in the Manchester United midfield, who were able to beat Arsenal 4-2 that day.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace in the win, and incidentally, Mikael Silvestre who went on to play for Arsenal, was sent off in the 69th minute.
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