At the apex of Arsenal and Manchester United's Premier League rivalry, two players embodied the hatred the teams had for the opposition, and the collisions between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira made for a legendary rivalry.
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Between 1997 and 2004, the English league title alternated between Old Trafford and Highbury. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger both created super-teams who were constantly at war as they battled for domestic supremacy. Both managers had technically gifted players at their disposal, but also some who could prove gritty, and perhaps no performers exuded this character more than their defensive midfielders, and captains, Vieira and Keane.
Much like his manager, the Frenchman came to the EPL and disturbed the hegemony that had already existed with Irishman Keane and his Scottish manager. The Mayfield native has even admitted this himself, stating that having grown up playing against the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Bryan Robson, when the Paris-raised midfielder arrived at Arsenal, he felt a responsibility to try and keep him down so he could have the mental edge over the rest of the league, as well as his fellow midfield partners at United.
Whenever the Gunners and the Red Devils took to the pitch and the two playmakers were in the starting XI, there would be intense battles in the middle of the park. It was the game within the game for them, both on the pitch and off it as well, with both have claimed that when they played against one another, the outcome of their respective individual skirmish would determine whose side would be more likely win the match.
However, these battles would sometimes spill over off the pitch as well, and on one occasion in February 2005, that was the case. During the 2004/05 season, the Mancunians had ended the north Londoners' unbeaten run in the league at 49 matches under controversial circumstances.
So when the return fixture rolled around at Highbury, Vieira was particularly aggrieved about the challenges Gary Neville had made on Jose Antonio Reyes during the match earlier that campaign. Speaking on ITV, the ex-England right-back claimed he was chased back into the away dressing room after their pre-match warm-ups by the Arsenal captain, and while he was telling Dennis Irwin how upset Vieira had seemed, Keane overheard the conversation.
As the two teams prepared to line up in the tight stadium tunnel, the 1998 FIFA World Cup winner had a go at Neville, at which point the United skipper intervened and started to stand up for his then-young teammate.
Keane could be heard shouting various expletives at his direct rival as he seemed to draw the battle lines before the encounter. The verbal altercation appeared to fire the 67-cap Ireland international up, and he would go on to put in a Man of the Match performance in a 4-2 win for Ferguson's charges.
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These two players were representations of their clubs and their managers, essentially embodying the essence of what the rivalry between the two football institutions were. Many perhaps forget, though, that while they were a hardened duo, they both had tremendous amounts of ability on the ball too, which made for a great rivalry in all facets.
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