RK: This Match Is The Biggest
Times: Quite the diplomat since exchanging the dressing-room for the dugout, Roy Keane is predicting a draw in today’s meeting of would-be champions, but there was a time when mere mention of Arsenal would have prompted snarls from the Irishman.
“It was the fixture I always looked out for,” the Sunderland manager and former Manchester United captain said. “The rivalry was so close, the competition so much better.”
Highbury may now be a memory and Keane retired before the opening of the Emirates Stadium, but with the two old enemies again heading the table, there is – however temporarily – a pre-Abramovich feel to this lunch-time clash and the Barclays Premier League. It is the sort of occasion to stir memories and create a few more.
“It was always Arsenal for me,” Keane said. “We were both top teams, we knew the results against them had a big say in who was going to win the league and those games were the best by far. When we played [Manchester] City, Christ we wanted to beat them – like you want to beat everybody – but they weren’t challenging us. I always preferred the Arsenal game.
“The players at the time did not particularly like each other – I’m not saying they do now – I don’t think the managers did that much and the supporters certainly didn’t.”
Comparisons have been made between Cesc Fàbregas, Arsenal’s heartbeat, and Paul Scholes, but Keane believes that they are premature. “He’s got the potential – just like I’ve got the potential to be a top manager – but not just yet,” he said. “He’s a very good player and at the perfect club with the perfect manager, but Paul’s done it for years and years.”
