Crystal Palace manager and former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira says he would have loved to share to a pitch with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes.
Vieira was one of the most important players for the Gunners during his nine-year stay in north London, arriving alongside compatriot Arsene Wenger in 1996 and helping Arsenal compete for the biggest trophies year on year. By the time he left the club, Vieira had won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups, including captaining the famous Invincibles side of 2003/04.
Arsenal’s biggest rivals in this period were Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, with games between the two clubs often getting heated. Some of the matches between the two sides have gone down in English football history including United’s 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win on their way to the 1999 treble as well as the ‘Battle of the Buffet’ at Old Trafford in 2004 when Cesc Fabregas threw a slice of pizza at Ferguson in the tunnel following a 2-0 home win.
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But despite the two side’s animosity towards each other, Vieira said if there was anybody from the current Premier League Hall of Fame - which he was officially inducted into on Thursday night - that he would have loved to share a pitch with, it’d have been Scholes. The pair often found themselves as direct opponents in the middle of the pitch, with Englishman Scholes often naming Vieira as one of his own toughest opponents.
"If I had the chance to have played with any of the current list of inductees, it would have to be Paul Scholes,” said Vieira. "He’s one of the best to ever play in the Premier League.
Asked which current players in the top-flight could one day enter the Hall of Fame, Vieira named a star each from Manchester City and Liverpool as well as one of his own players at Crystal Palace. He added: "The current players that I can see making it into the Hall of Fame would be Kevin de Bruyne for sure. I hope that Wilfried Zaha will make it one day, and Sadio Mane."
