JOHN O’SHEA has opened up on his front row seat to the infamous tunnel row between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.
It was in 2005 that then-reigning Premier League champions Arsenal welcomed Manchester United to Highbury.
And Vieira set the fiery scenes early by confronting Gary Neville over a previous clash the right-back had with Jose Antonio Reyes at Old Trafford.
As the two lined up before the game in the tunnel, Keane furiously hurled expletives at his opposite number Vieira.
But O’Shea has revealed how a “clever” Neville was to thank for their captain’s furious blast.
He said on Off The Ball: “I was on the bench that night.
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“But the best thing was how clever Gary Neville was just before kick-off in the dressing room.
“He just happens to quietly mention, ‘Patrick Vieira’s pinned me up inside the tunnel, saying I’m going to get it tonight after kicking Reyes up at Old Trafford.
“Next thing, everyone’s like, ‘What, what happened?’ and of course Roy was just stone silent.
“The brain just going into overdrive thinking okay, here we go. Didn’t say a word to anybody and then walked out and did what he did.”
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United went on to win the match 4-2, with O’Shea scoring.
Afterwards, Keane was asked about his row with Vieira.
He said: “I don’t want to go into too much detail but Patrick Vieira’s 6ft 4, starts having a go on Gary Neville. I said, ‘Come and have a go at me’. Simple as that.
“If players want to intimidate some of my team-mates, let’s have a go at some of the other players.
“They think Gary Neville’s an easy target. But I’m not having it.”
Chelsea won the league that year but Arsenal avenged their 4-2 loss by beating United on penalties in the FA Cup final.
Vieira left the Gunners the following season while Keane was ousted by United soon after and joined Celtic.
The pair are both now in retirement with Keane working alongside Neville for Sky while O’Shea is part of Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham coaching staff.
Together at United, O’Shea, Rooney and Neville won the Premier League and Champions League.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
