"We'll see you out there."
Through a cauldron of noise, Roy Keane's words echoed clear as day inside the Highbury tunnel. The infamous exchange between himself and Patrick Vieira typified the fractious rivalry between Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.
For the nine seasons that Keane and Vieira's Premier League careers crossed paths, United or Arsenal would win the title on all but one occasion. The two clubs were dominant in England during the late 1990s and early 2000s, before Roman Abramovich arrived to rescue Chelsea and put a stop to that power struggle during the 2004/05 season.
The two midfielders were vital components for their side's successes, as they displayed a combination of skill, elegance, brutality and passion in a cocktail of sheer entertainment.
Nearly 18 years have passed since the Highbury clash in 2005, and the pair have put their on-field animosity to bed, with a clear mutual respect having been formed between the two. Yet the journey to get to that point was a bumpy ride to say the least.
Keane won the Premier League twice in his first three seasons at United, with Vieira making the move from AC Milan to Arsenal in the summer of 1996, as the Irishman prepared for his fourth campaign at Old Trafford. It wasn't until February 1997 before the pair would first come up against each other, as United beat the Gunners 2-1 at Highbury.
Wenger's appointment at the North London club saw them surge into the ascendency, winning a league and FA Cup double in 1997/98 - a season where Keane was to miss the vast majority due to cruciate ligament damage. United's midfielder would be back for the 98/99 campaign, and it was another trip to Highbury that would see the first signs of sparks between the pair.
Vieira was the Man of the Match in a 3-0 win for the Gunners, but tempers nearly boiled over during the game as the Frenchman suggested Keane should be given a yellow card for a clash with Marc Overmars. United's former captain left the Arsenal man in no uncertain terms as to what he thought of the incident, coming within millimetres of the now-Crystal Palace manager as they squared up against one another.
The following meeting at Old Trafford later in the season saw the pair nearly come to blows, receiving a yellow card each as they attempted to trade punches. Andy Cole would eventually find an equaliser to see the two sides share the points.
An FA Cup semi-final awaited United and Arsenal just months later, as Vieira, despite their on-field tussles, admitted how much respect he has for Keane.
“I like to play against Roy Keane. He is a great competitor," the Arsenal man said. "Like me, he wants to win and we have had some good battles. But always, after the game, he will come and shake my hand. I like that, I respect that. He is one of the best midfield players I have come across and possibly the hardest I have played against.”
A goalless draw would lead to a replay at Villa Park, with Ryan Giggs scoring one of the most iconic solo goals the competition has ever seen to help United edge the contest 2-1. Keane would see red for two cautions that match, but Vieira's poor pass to the Welsh winger proved to be the telling mistake during the tie.
In August 1999, United came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 at Highbury, with Keane scoring both goals for Ferguson's side. During the match, Vieira barged into the Reds midfielder, leading to the pair squaring up to one another once again, quite literally coming head-to-head on the pitch.
In the following seasons, United and Arsenal would go on to seemingly share the Premier League with one another, as Wenger's side lifted the trophy in 2001/02, before United regained it in 2002/03 ahead of the North London side's invincible 2003/04 season. During this time, the clashes between Vieira and Keane were always full-throttle, but never got beyond boiling point.
In fact, after Vieira saw red during a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in 2003, Keane of all people was the one who intervened to calm the Arsenal man down, as he sought out Ruud van Nistelrooy in the heat of the moment. This appeared to be the start of a mutual respect between the pair, but in hindsight, was simply the calm before the storm.
During the 2004/05 season, United would beat Arsenal 2-0 at Old Trafford, preventing them from reaching the milestone of 50 league games unbeaten. 'Pizzagate' lit the touch paper for the Highbury return clash, where Ferguson's side would complete the double over their rivals, winning 4-2.
As the players lined up in the tunnel before the match, Keane was seen visibly furious with the Frenchman, as he shouted and pointed at Vieira, with the infamous battle cry: "We'll see you out there".
“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.”
The Arsenal man too can look back on their rivalry with an element of fondness, despite the tension at the time.
"What started all this? Roy 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 [Neville] 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."
The accused United right-back helped to shed some light on the incident, as he recalled his own version of events years later.
"So before we got in the tunnel to go out for the game, coming in for the warm-up, he's chasing me up the tunnel screaming at me!" Neville said last year.
"So I go into the changing room and sit down next to Denis Irwin, saying 'Vieira's a bit annoyed, he's just chased me up the tunnel.' I sat next to Denis here and Roy was next to Denis, so Roy heard that."
The last dance between the pair came during Arsenal's 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory in the 2004/05 FA Cup final. Keane and Vieira both scored their spot-kicks, with the Frenchman moving to Juventus the following season.
Since hanging up their boots, the pair famously addressed their battles over the years during an ITV documentary called: Keane & Vieira - Best of Enemies.
Keane revealed the respect between the pair, as he said: “The biggest compliment I can give Patrick is that I always knew I had to be at my very, very, very best against him."
Vieira too revealed how he relished in their duels, admitting: “He is my favourite enemy. I loved every aspect of his game.”
The Premier League has yet to see, and likely never will, a rivalry as intense and formidable as Vieira and Keane's.
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