To beat Arsenal back then you had to win the midfield battle with Vieira. People forget how influential he was to that team. He bossed the midfield like I've rarely seen any other player do. He was more skillful than Roy Keane, more attack minded, accurate defensively and skillful than Edgar Davids. He was the best CMF/DMF in the Premiership in his prime.
Not only Vieira but Gilberto Silva as well. Both were so good at defending ,two walls to try and break. Crazy btw Silva's nickname was "the invisible wall" so it fits good that you haven't mentioned him 😅
Decent round up. Couple of things I'd mention: - He was Wenger's first signing, not one of them, which is a massive statement of Wenger's talent spotting ability. - He made an immediate impact, as in from his debut, & he dominated in the league instantly. - He was a superior player than Keane, & Keane would admit that himself Keane onky won more due to playing for United which had a very 'influential' manager & more resources. - Vieira in summer after invincible season was allowed to talk to Real, who had been after him for yrs, but ended up not going as he was offered sub-galactico wages - typical stupidity from Perez. Due to that he ended up staying & left next summer on our terms. - You didn't mention that he was never truly replaced, & that him & Edu leaving together hurt Arsenal massively. Kudos for emphasising his lovely touch & technical ability, he was a beast but a very gifted & elegant one. The clips & photos from his younger days were great to see as well, kudos there too.
United had a more 'influential' manager..? Did Fergies influence extend to UEFA competitions did it? I dont recall Arsenal being successful in the Champions league when Vieria was there? Thats Fergusons fault is it? Apart from that i agree with everything else you wrote; Vieria was exceptional talent with flaws..
I can't say Vieira is "better" than Keane. They were very similar in the roles they fulfilled for their teams. Vieira was more skillful but Keane's force of will was something else. He would just find a way to win (his battle, the match, whatever). They were both great and I see nobody on their level in their positions around today.
You need to make one on Tony Adams.Please The polls last time clearly showed just how much underrated he is and how for many people arsenal is just the invincibles team. Really sad considering his legacy and contributions to the club and what he means to the fans and the club.Hope people get to know about him more.
Wengers biggest blunder was dismantling the invincibles straight away. I think the owners wanted him to get $$ from them to pay for the Emirates. And Vieira is the 1 we haven't come close to replacing ever since. You're right that his feats with Arsenal cannot all be quantified.
Wenger signed Van Persie to replace Bergkamp, Adebayor to replace Kanu, Reyes to replace Wiltord, Diaby to replace Veiera. There was also the Yaya Toure work permit issue. But main issue was Diaby being injury prone
Although Vieira was one of the most important players in that Arsenal team, His midfield partner Gilberto always gets overlooked. It was Gilberto's defensive solidness that allowed Vieira to shine.
Remember brother he arrived at Arsenal long before Gilberto Silva and had many midfield partners, for the club and for the French national team as well please don’t forget, but still enormous respect love Gilberto Silva also very very very underrated I agree with you on that part
Vieira was at his best when he was partnered with Petit - they had an incredible understanding, when Vieira attacked, Petit dropped and then vice versa. It was like telepathy those 2 together. After Petit left Vieira would often be the more defensive minded CM next to someone like Parlour or Van Bronkhorst (to name a couple of players) but you lost a lot of what made Vieira so affective. So when they brought Gilberto in a proper DM it freed up Vieira to go back to being that more box to box CM again, who was as effective attacking as he was defending.
Vieira is my favourite midfielder and you've analysed his game and his history in a really immaculate but yet so interesting manner. Your channel definitely deserves more recognition. keep it up mate!
When i first saw Vieira it was like watching an under 16s game with an adult playing in midfield. Powerful, athleticism, great touch. Passing. Brave . What a great era
As a gooner for over 40 years, Patrick was THE best player and captain that Arsenal ever had. It was Arsene's biggest mistake to sell him and replace him with the lightweight Fabregas. He should have stayed and become Arsene's no2, taking over from him. That would have been amazing. I'm sure that he will have success at Palace and, hopefully, come home to replace Arteta.
im still blown away by the quality of your vids and the low levels of attention they receive. If possible you should cover players like Antonio Puerta of Seville its a heavy story and out of your norm, but its a perfect example of the football world at its best after a horrible turn of events.
MY FAVOURITE PLAYER and the best midfielder ever. I pick him first choice over Thierry Henry and Tony Adams. Tony Adams was a better captain though. If only Arsene did not sell Petite. I am so glad Patrick is becoming a good manager.
I remember watching his debut as if it were yesterday. Never heard of the kid, but was very excited to see one of wengers first signings (possibly his first). After the match I remember thinking wow, what a talent we have at Arsneal. If you wanted to bottle and clone the perfect complete midfielder. It would be Viera.
Same against Sheffield Wednesday. A little while before that I was told me we signed a tall guy from Milan. Never saw a player like him. Haven’t since.
@@47killerhitman Absolutely. I see him at one of the biggest clubs anywhere in Europe in the not too distant future and maybe even the French national team.
@@GeekOT1 Yeah, but unfortunately he just couldn’t stay fit for the majority of a season, so for all intents and purposes, it’s like we didn’t really replace him.
I am a Zidane Fan but the media criminally glorified and made Zidane the most important player in Frances run to the 2006 World Cup final only those that followed Frances game in that tournament and leading up know Patrick Viera was the most important and best player for France in that tournament and had been for about 2yrs leading up to it
l love your polite narration and vids. So nice to not have someone screaming and whining through the video. And also unlike many other football vids of this type, you don't point out the obvious. You say the stuff that people want to know. Thank you.
Everyone talks about how Wenger's methods gave 5 years extra life to Arsenal's back four, but it was sticking Vieira in front of them that mattered most.
Wonderful player..Always thought he should have scored more goals given the strike he had but... One of THE finest CMF players the Prem has ever seen without question..Plucked from AC Milan reserves..Woooow
People compare him to Keane.. not only was he a better leader & defensively superior but he was on another planet technically. Ferguson attempted to buy him multiple times throughout the rivaly of Wenger V Fergie.. I dont understand how they are compared.
I was a kid living in the states in the 90s so watching the prem or being exposed to any other football league was pretty much non existent for me even though I I played football like many kids do when theyre small in the USA. That being said, I would've wished with all my heart to have watched these classic matches and pretty much only in Fifa did I truly get exposed to a player like Vieira searching videos and stuff of his matches and interviews... Suffice to say, If I could choose only one Moments Icon in Fifa every year, it's this man. I know it's just a game but seeing him running around bossing my opponents players and seeing his huge in game model bring a big smile to my face. It's stupid but a card like his in the game just makes me enjoy the game that much more and of course, his contribution to the real life game is just special.
Benchmark in everything even to this day, but EPL people don’t talk much about him cause he isn’t British. Wenger made a terrible call by letting him go early, even at 29 it seems like he could’ve played another 5 years minimum at Arsenal & could’ve taught thing or two about winning league to the next gen & maybe dynamics of English league would be slightly different than what it is now
Vieira was done by the 04/05 season, he was struggling with lots of niggling injuries. Thats why he sold him - Wenger stated that Vieira was never going to have a long career at the top of his game because his physiology wasn't up for it. He was this big, rangey footballer, strong and powerful but playing in the PL in the most combatitive position it was taking a toll on Vieira's tall rangey but powerful frame. Unlike other top midfielders at the time like Lamps, or Scholes - Vieira's game was so much about his physical domination of the midfield that when his mobility and athleticism would be lost he would struggle to cope against the best opponents. and Wenger was right, just a season or 2 later later when he came back to Highbury with Juve - he was a shadow of the player he once was - Fabrigas ran rings around him. As good as Fabrigas was Prime Vieira would have eaten Fabrigas for breakfast.
You had to see him play during that time to really understand his value. Stats in his case don't mean anything. He was a breathtaking player. He was everything you wanted from a central midfielder, and at 6"4, with the pace and balance of a much shorter player, had an edge over other great players of his type. If I could say one thing about him in an Arsenal shirt- he steadied the ship every time he got the ball. They've been missing it ever since.
@@FootballIconic Well I wouldn't blame Fabregas, I would blame Wenger for abandoning the type of midfielders he had in Petit and Vera and Silva do an extent and going with small diminutive players like Rosicky, Carzorla and not playing a Vera type next to them. Arsenal where crying out for a cdm for years and did nothing about it.
@@davidc5170 Oh I definitely don't blame Fabregas, which I why I prefaced it with "in a weird way" haha. He was brilliant. But Fabregas was the reason that Wenger abandoned the Vieira type players.
I think the best way to measure how good an attacking midfielders like Vieira is to total and average his critical passes, ball control, ball retention, passes completed, goals scored, assists, etc and all the other skills necessary for an AMF.
What I miss about this era is that midfielders were one or two degrees more offensive than midfielders nowadays. Vieira as a defensive midfielder had seasons with 5 scorer points or even more. Thos wold be numbes central midfielders nowadays have. And central and offensive midfielders back then had astronomical numbers compared to today. Back then even defensive midfielders were very technical and skilled. But looking at it now, it seems like we are returning to an era with skilled and offensive midfielders.
I'd love a nostalgic video on Kinkladze or Juninho, maybe Ravanelli who's a bit more high profile. Darren Huckerby or even Craig Bellamy, some of the forgotten gems of the Prem
Amazing job man, your channel is perfect and it has A LOT of masterclass footballer. Can you do 16/18 back-to-back TRIPPLE champions league for Zizou's Madrid.
One of the best players in prem history. I'd put him on equal footing with Gerrard. Little bit behind Keane because Keane is still the most dominant, influential prem player I've seen. But yeah great player. World class. Imagine them 3 in the same team.
Man Vieira in his prime was too good. He was a brick wall in midfield with incredible strength, pace and stamina. He tackled like a center back and he passed like a deep lying playmaker. He also had really fantastic ball control and dribbling, rarely losing the ball. Such a complete player… He’d be that guy in FIFA with all 80+ stats. He’s the best box-to-box/defensive midfielder in PL history. Not only was he great for Arsenal though, he was a key part of the French teams that made it to two finals (he was really good in both 1998 and 2006) and the 2000 Euro.
I remember when I was 11 years old watching an Arsenal game live one rainy afternoon and my friend's father told me to watch Vieira throughout the game as I played in a similar position to him. 5mins after the match started, no word of a lie, Vieira's shorts were covered in mud....talk about getting stuck in. People rave about Henry and Bergkamp (the players with flair) but this guy was immense.
He and Henry were the only i was afraid of when they played several times against my ''99-04'' , Panathinaikos team which was the basis of 2004 Greek national team that won the 2004 Euro. No one was both strong and technical in the highest level as he was.
Can you imagine how different Arsenals history would be if Italian giants werent so quick to give up on players? Vieira from AC Milan, Bergkamp from Inter, and Henry from Juve were all willingly sold, not because of irresistable transfer offers or a lack of funds, but simply because they were judged to be surplus to requirements. Inter could have had Bergkamp playing with prime Ronaldo Fenomono, Milan could have had Seedorf and Vieira with Pirlo for their whole primes and Juve could have had an attacking trident of Del Piero, Henry, and Nedved. Lucky for us they werent more patient
The managerial merry go round was Serie A in the 90's. Inter Milan were always changing their mangers every season. Other teams maybe every two seasons.
Vieira didn't take a few games to establish himself as a fan favourite. He took 45 minutes. He came on as a sub at half-time with Arsenal losing 1-0 at home to a poor Sheffield Wednesday team. Arsenal had a good defence and a good attack but a void in central midfield. Vieira transformed the game and Arsenal ended up winning 4-1. He and the English Premier League were made for each other.
