News about Patrick Vieira

This Sunday, Arsenal will travel across the Seven Sisters Road to Tottenham and hash out one of the most bitter, heated rivalries in English football - the North London Derby.  It's the first game fans pick out when the fixtures are released, the most in-demand tickets on the market, and undoubtedly the most stressful days of any supporter's season.  The stakes are just that much higher; defeats are all the more painful, every blunder and mistake will be sent your way for the next six months by rival fans. But the victories are celebrated like a Cup Final and every scrap of joy eked out until the next meeting.

John Terry has claimed that his Chelsea side's feat of conceding only 15 goals in the 2004-05 season was just as impressive as when Arsenal went a whole campaign unbeaten the previous year.  Terry was voted into the Premier League Hall of Fame on Monday, alongside Manchester United legend Andy Cole, where he joins former team-mate Ashley Cole for inductees in 2024.  In fact, he also finds a number of the Gunners' Invincible icons in the shape of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Arsene Wenger and of course Cole, who swapped north London for the west of the city not long after. 

The Premier League is considered the greatest division in the world and for good reason, but one the most impressive things about the English top-tier is the level of diversity.  Some 126 nations from around the world have been represented at one point during the 31 years that the league has been running, showcasing some of the best talent the game has to offer.  This season alone, there are 63 nations represented in the Premier League aside from England, with France leading the way with 31 players while the likes of Estonia and Gabon have just one representative in 2023-24. 

CHRIS WHEELER: Despite the inherent danger of serious injury or shame, several players love the flamboyant goal celebrations. The knee joint has deteriorated. Bruno Fernandes, the new Premier League star to play it at Old Trafford on Sunday, after scoring an impressive goal for Manchester United from the centre circle in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Fernandes stopped two tramlines in the pristine turf as he slid for several yards on his knees and then returned to his feet in a single smooth motion as he turned around to the corner flag. Out of ten, eight out of ten.

Matches have been so bonkers that it would be impossible to recall where you were when the craziness began to unfold for our viewing pleasure. Manchester United's snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Thursday, allowing Chelsea's Cole Palmer to score twice in the dying seconds of stoppage time. Mail Sport gathered our top maddest games from the Premier League's recent return to action.

SAMI MOKBEL IS A SAMI MOKBEL IN THE ETIHAD STADIUM: Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane's Echoes. Shades of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. It's unclear if the new chapter of enthralling Premier League midfield rivalries stands the test of time, but Rodri versus Declan Rice is brewing away just fine. Both eyes were barely out of each other's eye shot, with neither giving an inch. In equal measure, bruising and balletic.

Emmanuel Petit, a former Arsenal midfielder, has expressed regret for leaving the team 'for a woman' and said he wishes he could'turn the clock back.' After joining Arsenal for £2.5 million from Monaco in 1997, Petit enjoyed an impressive three-year tenure. After forming a strong partnership with fellow French national team player Patrick Vieira, the midfielder helped the Gunners win a double in his first season with the club.

IAN LADYMAN: Jude Bellingham will not be 21 until the middle of this summer's European Championship and has just five tournament starts. Gareth Southgate sees him not only as a great talent but also as a young footballer with the ability to lead. Asked by Mail Sport whether Bellingham runs the risk of being on the wrong side of authorities at Euro 2024, Southgate said: "I'm thinking Gerrard, Vieira, and Keane are among the great players that compete with him.'

KIERAN GILL AT STAMFORD BIDGE: Chelsea closed the gap between themselves and tenth-placed Newcastle to a single point with a deserved victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring with a lovely flick in the sixth minute, but visitors were met by Alexander Isak. Cole Palmer revived Chelsea's lead with a brilliant shot before replacement Mykhailo Murdryk doubled their lead after being plucked through on goal.

If Tottenham Hotspur follow up on their summer interest, midfielder Morten Hjulmand could find himself in a rather difficult situation. For some time, the Denmark international has been on Spurs' radar, but he grew up as a passionate Arsenal fan and has the Gunners' logo tattooed on his upper left arm. Hjulmand, a child who idolized Patrick Vieira, revealed that his Arsenal devotion had been passed down from his father, according to Portuguese outlet Record, Hjulmand.

Following a humiliating loss to Brighton on Saturday, Crystal Palace's chairman, Steve Parish, is seriously considering removing Roy Hodgson from his managerial role. However, he is having trouble finding a replacement who would be able to take over at this point in the season. Since losing by a humiliating 4-1 loss, Palace's heaviest loss since 1956's 5-0 loss, the former England manager is under growing strain. Despite continuing struggles, Parish, who had previously fired Patrick Vieira in March last year after a 1-0 loss to Brighton last year, has been considering potential replacements for weeks, but hasn't committed to firing Hodgson.

Clubs have their last chance to improve ahead of the rest of the season as we enter the final hours of the January transfer window. Teams at the top of the pack will be looking for titles and European qualification, while those at the bottom will be hoping that a new addition would keep them away from relegation problems. In the midst of several FFP probes, Everton and Nottingham Forest have been charged with breaching the top flight's financial laws this month, and it underscores the balancing act clubs must play to ensure immediate success with financial stability. However, there are still many deals in the offing that will run right up to the 11 p.m. deadline on Thursday, with some players facing uncertain futures.

During the famous 'Tunnel Game' between Man United and Arsenal, Gary Neville has revealed that he received an expletive earful from England colleague Ashley Cole. Arsenal hosted a Manchester United team looking to reclaim the English crown in 2004-05, and the two teams met in Highbury for their second match of the season. The Red Devils would lose by 4-2 to their opponents, with the two teams having dominated English football for almost a decade by that time, although Chelsea were poised to snatch a first-ever trophy from under their noses.

After five months out due to a serious hamstring injury, the midfielder almost single handedly ensured City kept tabs with Liverpool at the top of the table, scoring a goal and helping his team beat Newcastle 3-1. The Belgian was named in the FIFPro World XI alongside colleagues Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Haaland on the back of City's maiden Champions League victory.

DANNY MURPHY INTERVIEWS MICHAEL OWEN — When Michael Owen is asked to pick his favorite moment from his career, his World Cup victory over Argentina, his hat-trick for England in Germany, or even winning the Ballon d'Or - he is the first Englishman to do so. The honest answer always surprises them. It's the FA Cup final of 2001, when he single-handedly lifted the trophy for Liverpool with two spectacular late goals against Arsenal. The first was an instinctive half-volley in the box before Patrick Vieira and Martin Keown could react, with the winner a blistering run past Lee Dixon and Tony Adams before he tipped for a strong finish over David Seaman. I had the best seat in the house to see it, having been knocked a few minutes earlier for yelling Ashley Cole around in the heat of the Millennium Stadium. There will certainly be more airings of "the Owen final" before Arsenal and Liverpool face each other in the FA Cup third round at the Emirates, a match I am covering for BBC television. To get myself in the mood, I spoke with Michael, who was also a good friend from Liverpool, to reminisce about the golden day in Cardiff and other wonderful memories.

AT SELHURST PARK: Support for Roy Hodgson may have dwindled in some departments at Crystal Palace, but not in the dressing room. There have been instances where a Palace boss has been the opposite, most recently in Patrick Vieira's final days before his dismissal in March. The drama behind the scenes may have a huge influence on key decision makers such as Palace chairman Steve Parish. However, the support he received from his players, as shown by his triumph and success against Brentford, was underlined.

We'll be missing Roy Hodgson as he leaves the game. We'll miss his humanity, honesty, and humility; one of football's true gentleman. The antonym of what the game has become, judging, approachable, and amusing. However, don't be fooled; Hodgson's hardened side isn't lost. A nice guy can do it to a forty-seven years in management. Many that have been on the receiving end of Hodgson's tongue will testify to the other half of his character.

Fans will now be able to dream of a new age as Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the current owner of Manchester United, ratifies his 25 percent purchase for £1.3 billion. The Glazers, unfortunately for supporters, are still in place for the time being, but they do now have a fiercely competitive boyhood fan who thrives when the odds are against him in Ratcliffe, who will take over football operations alongside his INEOS staff. Ratcliffe has never had life simpler, spent the first ten years of his life in Failsworth, a small town between Manchester and Oldham, on Dunkerley Avenue.

Como's Osian Roberts has been named caretaker boss for the remainder of the season, with Cesc Fabregas relinquishing the interim position in order to complete his UEFA coaching certifications. Fabregas, who is part of the Serie B club's capital group, took over interim charge last month, stepping up from his head coach position with the Primavera side. After three victories in five matches, he guided them to third place in their brief tenure.

Roy Hodgson, the current Crystal Palace chairman, has regrets his choice of words in implying that Eagles' followers had been disappointed with recent years' performance at Selhurst Park, but has promised to continue the collected effort to lift his team's table. Palace was humiliated to a 2-0 home loss by Bournemouth on Wednesday night, when some supporters opted for a late departure before boos followed the final whistle, with one supporter launching a missile in Hodgson's direction as he walked away. With just one league victory in the last eight games, five of which have been lost, the 76-year-old explains all too well the resentments in the stands at his boyhood club.

IAN LADYMAN - FOOTBALL EDITOR: Standing in puddles in a shady concrete alleyway near Galatasaray's RAMS Park Stadium's malfunctioning turnstiles, the Manchester United supporters were relieved when a decision was taken to open a small door on the side. It wasn't always safe to funnel 500 people into such confined and fragile environment, but at least it meant they would finally get to see the game. Their team was already two goals higher inside the stadium last Wednesday. During the full time, a decision was taken to hold those same United supporters inside the ground for 80 minutes. By the time they finally got to the warmth of a wet night, they were late, and only a handful of shuttle buses for the ten-mile ride to central Istanbul were packed up fast. Any tried hitting lifts by the highway, but it didn't succeed. Others flagged taxis down to discover drivers charging $US100.

John O'Shea, a former Manchester United player, has written about Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira's infamous Highbury tunnel fight in 2005, revealing how 'clever' Gary Neville was in the dressing room before kick-off. Arsenal and serial Premier League champions Manchester United met in February 2005 at Highbury, where the intense match was preceded by a fiery bust-up between the two former captains. Vieira's selection of a match with Keane's colleague Neville, who told the Manchester United team's coaching room about his altercation with the Arsenal midfielder caused the incident.

Penalty shootouts could be drastically altered under former Arsenal chief David Dein's plan, who wants players to have spot kicks at both ends. Capts from both teams are flipping a coin at the end of extra time if two teams are unable to decide which end players will shoot at. However, one team will be compelled to take their place in front of opposition supporters - who will inevitably do their best to discourage them from doing gestures and making loud noise, which Dein finds to be "unfair."

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is close to concluding his purchase of a minority interest in Manchester United, bringing the year's nebility about the club's ownership to a close. The INEOS chief prevailed in a head-to-head contest with a Qatari consortium headed by banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani last month, but the club is now on the brink of completing the £1.3 billion takeover of 25% of the organisation. Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, had intended to purchase a majority stake in the club, but with no success, a new bid for a quarter did the trick.