If there was one player Roy Keane hated football at Arsenal back in the good old days (for United supporters), it was Patrick Vieira. Vieira was as calm and balanced as Keane was a powder keg and at times uncontrollable on the pitch. Still, both players were equally uncompromisingly tough, two real sluggers. So it’s interesting to hear from Vieira about Alex Ferguson’s big plan.
Between 1998 and 2005, the clashes between the two clubs were particularly intense. Patrick Vieira reminisces to Sky Sports about when Alex Ferguson called him in to drop Arsenal and play for United.
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“I had the opportunity to go to Real Madrid a couple of times, but also an opportunity to go to United. I had a meeting with Sir Alex. With all due respect, I couldn’t say no to a meeting with him because he was such an important person in the Premier League,” Vieira begins.
“We met, talked and he explained to me his vision for United and what his team wanted to build. He wanted me to play with Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs on the left and David Beckham on the right. Paul Scholes was going to play behind Ruud van Nistelrooy, so it was a pretty good team,” Vieira said.
There was no Keane/Vieira duo.
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“I couldn’t leave Arsenal. I enjoyed it so much there and we also built something very special,” the former Arsenal captain explains.
Still, a good story.
