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Football

01st Nov 2020

Bruno Fernandes watched Keane vs Vieira tunnel bust-up ahead of Arsenal game

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes says he watched a video of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira having one of their confrontations ahead of Sunday's game

Reuben Pinder

What a night that was

Bruno Fernandes has said he watched a video Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira having one of their famous confrontations ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Arsenal this Sunday.

Speaking to Sky Sports’ Laura Woods, the midfielder said: “Yesterday I saw a video of Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane in the tunnel.

“Maybe now different situations, different players. But the same love. Everyone wants to win, the fight will be there. We know we play against a big team but we also know the responsibility we have as players of Manchester United.”

The game Fernandes refers to is of course United’s 4-2 win over Arsenal at Highbury in the 2004/05 season, with John O’Shea capped off an incredible evening of football with a deft chip over Manuel Almunia.

Back in 2017, Gary Neville gave his take on that infamous Highbury schemozzle.  “It came out of the previous game we played at Old Trafford,” Neville told Soccer AM.

“It was suggested that we were quite tough with [Jose Antonio] Reyes where he got subbed after an hour. I think I’d put a couple on him, I think Phil did and I think Scholesy did. But I got the brunt of it because I was playing against him as a direct opponent.

“I just remember hearing these footsteps behind me and Vieira shouting, ‘Neville, Neville… You’re not going to kick our players out on this pitch today!’

“Roy obviously turned back, heard him and started having a go at him. And he sort of squirted his water bottle towards Roy. Then all hell broke loose.”

It’s unlikely we’ll see the sort of tunnel beef mentioned above, or Harry Maguire pulling off something so outrageous this afternoon. But United will go into the game in high spirits having just beaten RB Leipzig 5-0 in the Champions League, with Marcus Rashford scoring a 27 minute hat-trick off the bench.

 

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