Roy Keane stirs fresh controversy about Arsenal great Patrick Vieira

Over the years, Manchester United and Arsenal have brewed some of the most fierce personal rivalries the footballing world has seen. One may cast their minds back to a time when Martin Keown and Ruud Van Nistlerooy went toe to toe at Old Trafford. None of these rivalries have been as well documented as the one that Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira shared during their playing days.

The former United captain, Keane opened up about his relationship with Vieira among several other topics of conversation while sat alongside Jamie Carragher at the Sky Sports studio prior to the match between Arsenal and Manchester United on Monday night.

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On his rivalry with Patrick Vieira:

“It was a big challenge for me when Patrick came onto the scene.

He was a good player and I knew I had to be at my best when I was up against him. He was nasty, he could put his foot in and he could score a goal.

Patrick would've been my toughest opponent at the time. He would challenge you in different ways. He would get around the pitch, he was good with the ball, he was strong, and he had a goal in him. I knew I had to be at my very, very best to get on top of Patrick.

There was a respect towards Patrick. It was the same with the lads coming through. I go back to Steven Gerrard and the Frank Lampard. You had to be at your best. I had huge respect for him, but I knew if I could win my battle it would give us a better chance of winning the game

There was talk about Patrick [going to United], but I don't think he would have got into the United team. He would've had to have been a squad player and I don't think he would've been satisfied with that.”

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“I was never one for argy-bargy or slagging people off in the tunnel, but Patrick had threatened Gary in the tunnel, and I felt he crossed the line.

The key for me after that is don't be distracted by it. Focus on the match. The most important thing that night was to win the game, which we did. I always think these things look worse than what they really are. It summed up the rivalry”