Arsenal icon reveals secret Ferguson meeting over Man United move

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Patrick Vieira has revealed that he sat down with Sir Alex Ferguson to discuss a move to Manchester United while he was still captaining Arsenal, with the Scot planning to pair him in midfield with Roy Keane.

Vieira and Keane were the defining rivalry of the era, two combative midfielders who regularly went head-to-head as Arsenal and United fought over Premier League titles. Their confrontations in the tunnel and on the pitch became part of Premier League folklore.

Behind the scenes, though, Ferguson was working to turn his fiercest midfield opponent into an ally.

Respect led Vieira to the table

Speaking to The Sun, the current Senegal manager explained that he agreed to the meeting out of respect for Ferguson's standing in the game, rather than because he had decided to leave north London.

"Full respect, I couldn't say no to meeting him because he was an important figure in the Premier League," Vieira said.

"We met and we talked and he explained to me his vision that he had for Manchester United and the team that he wanted to build."

The team Ferguson pitched

Vieira went on to detail exactly how Ferguson intended to use him, and the names involved underline how serious the approach was.

"He wanted to play me with Roy Keane, Giggs on the left-hand side, David Beckham on the right-hand side and [Paul] Scholes to play behind [Ruud] Van Nistelrooy, so it wasn't a bad team," the Frenchman added.

That proposed side would have featured a Vieira-Keane double pivot, with Ryan Giggs and Beckham providing width, Scholes operating in the pocket and Van Nistelrooy leading the line. It was a lineup built around the most recognisable figures of United's dominant period.

Vieira stayed. He remained at Highbury and went on to captain the Invincibles side that went unbeaten through the 2003-04 Premier League season, before eventually leaving for Juventus in 2005.

A rivalry that defined an era

The revelation adds another layer to a rivalry that shaped English football for the best part of a decade. Ferguson's willingness to pursue Arsene Wenger's captain speaks to how highly he rated the midfielder, and to the lengths United were prepared to go to weaken their closest challengers.

Vieira made 279 league appearances for Arsenal across nine years, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. His name remains synonymous with the club's most successful modern period, and the idea of him lining up alongside Keane in red rather than opposite him in red and white is one of the great what-ifs of the Premier League era.

Vieira is now in charge of the Senegal national team, having previously managed Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa. His connection to Arsenal has endured long after his playing days, and this latest insight only reinforces how close the club came to losing one of its greatest servants to its biggest rival of the time.

For Arsenal supporters, it is a reminder of just how fine the margins were during a period when the title race was decided as much in the transfer market as it was on the pitch.