Former Manchester United star John O'Shea has opened up on the infamous Highbury tunnel row between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira in 2005, revealing how 'clever' Gary Neville was in the dressing room before kick-off.
Reigning champions Arsenal and serial Premier League winners Manchester United met at Highbury in February 2005, and the fierce clash was preceded by a tempestuous bust-up between the two former captains.
The incident was sparked by Vieira picking a fight with Keane's team-mate Neville, who told the Manchester United dressing room before kick-off about his altercation with the Arsenal midfielder.
As the players prepared to walk out on to the pitch, furious Keane was heard firing expletives and pointing aggressively at the Gunners captain.
O'Shea, now part of Wayne Rooney's coaching staff at Birmingham, has opened up on the incident, explaining how 'clever' Neville managed to bait the passionate reaction out of his captain.
'I was on the bench that night,' O'Shea told Off The Ball, reflecting on the Red Devils' 4-2 win. 'But the best thing was how clever Gary Neville was just before kick-off in the dressing room.
'He just happens to quietly mention, "Patrick Vieira's pinned me up inside the tunnel, saying I'm going to get it tonight after kicking (Jose Antonio) Reyes up at Old Trafford".
'Next thing, everyone's like, "What, what happened?", and of course Roy was just stone silent. The brain just going into overdrive thinking okay, here we go.
'Didn't say a word to anybody and then walked out and did what he did.'
Vieira opened the scoring for Arsenal in the fierce clash before Ashley Cole's own goal put United on level terms.
The Gunners regained their advantage ahead of half time through Dennis Bergkamp, but a quickfire double from Cristiano Ronaldo early in the second half fired the Red Devils 3-2 ahead.
Mikael Silvestre's red card reduced United to 10 men with just over 20 minutes to play, setting up a tense finish, before O'Shea chipped Manuel Almunia in the 88th minute to seal the victory.
Straight after the match, Keane was asked about the bust-up in the tunnel.
'I don't want to go into too much detail but Patrick Vieira's 6ft 4, starts having a go on Gary Neville. I said, "Come and have a go at me". Simple as that.
'If players want to intimidate some of my team-mates, let's have a go at some of the other players. They think Gary Neville's an easy target. But I'm not having it.'