THIS WEEK is the 17th anniversary of one of the most incredible sporting moments in Premier League history. It was a rivalry between Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal sides that defined the Premier League in the late 1990's and early 2000's.
Many fans of Manchester United and Arsenal will remember the infamous tunnel saga between Ireland's Roy Keane and Arsenal's Patrick Viera. It was at Highbury in February 2005, where both teams headed out onto the pitch through the tunnel.
Viera is said to have said something to Gary Neville in the warm-up that sparked the famous incident. This was said to be heard by then captain Roy Keane, where his temper was on full display in front of the Sky cameras.
Keane could be be seen shouting at Vieira, telling the Gunners captain
“we’ll see you out there!”
Referee Graham Poll had to step in to calm the feuding captains before the teams went onto the pitch.
🔥 - It's always a heated affair when @Arsenal and @ManUtd meet!
Tempers flared back in this meeting as Roy Keane and Patrick Viera almost came to blows in the tunnel...😳
Watch United's visit to Arsenal from 4pm, live on Sky Sports PL! pic.twitter.com/ee6V5fmFQe— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 10, 2019
United won the game 4-2 and moved to second place in the Premiership and completed a home-and-away double over Arsenal.
After the game Keane spoke in the post match interview and said:
“Patrick Vieira's 6'4” and he starts having a go at Gary Neville. “I said: 'Come and have a go at me'. Simple as that.
“If players want to intimidate some of my team-mates then let’s have a go at some of the other players. They think Gary Neville’s an easy target. I’m not having it.”
Keane and Vieira have since put their differences aside and have been seen working together on plenty of occasions as pundits, and have gone on to speak about the event.
Keane had stints in management at the likes of Ipswich, Sunderland and Ireland, while also working as pundit for Sky and ITV. Viera on the other hand has become a manager in France, America and now manages Crystal Palace.
CARDIFF, WALES - MAY 21: Patrick Vieira of Arsenal and Roy Keane of Manchester United battle for the ball (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)Keane was asked in 2019 about the incident and said
“I was never one for argy-bargy or slagging people off in the tunnel, but Patrick had threatened Gary [Neville] in the tunnel and I felt he crossed the line,' Keane said back in 2019.
“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.”
While Viera has also given his view of the bust-up saying Keane lost his temper, which wasn't surprising
"What started all this? Roy is losing his temper!" Vieira joked while working alongside Keane as a pundit on Euro 2020.
"Before that? There was a rivalry between the two clubs and as an Arsenal player, you wanted to play against the best and at that time it was United.
"It was challenging, very difficult, and Gary here, one of his strengths was intimidating players.
"At that time, I was getting frustrated at the number of fouls on our players. As the captain, I wanted to put him under a little bit of pressure."
We may never see the likes of it again in English football, but for the sake of football fans who grew up in the 90's and before that Arsenal and Manchester United need that rivalry back again as it's passion and drama has been long overdue and lacking for sometime.
💬 "They thought Gary Neville was an easy target, but I wasn't having it"
Throwback to Roy Keane's post match interview after THAT incident pre-game with Patrick Viera... pic.twitter.com/6Ck0U2bclA— WeLoveBetting (@WeLoveBettingUK) October 18, 2021
Arsenal: Almunia, Lauren (Fabregas 83), Campbell (Hoyte 79), Cygan, Cole, Ljungberg, Flamini (Reyes 70), Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp, Henry.
Subs Not Used: Lehmann, Van Persie.
Booked: Pires, Reyes.
Goals: Vieira 8, Bergkamp 36.
Man Utd: Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze, Fletcher (O'Shea 61), Keane, Scholes, Ronaldo (Brown 70), Rooney, Giggs (Saha 77).
Subs Not Used: Howard, Phil Neville.
Sent Off: Silvestre (69).
Booked: Heinze, Giggs, Rooney, Ronaldo.
Goals: Giggs 18, Ronaldo 54, 58, O'Shea 89.
Att: 38,164.
Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
