What a return to Arsenal it very nearly was for Patrick Vieira on Monday night.
The legendary Gunners captain came back to North London but this time as a manager with Crystal Palace.
And if not for a last-gasp equaliser from Arsenal hitman Alexandre Lacazette, Vieira would’ve left with all three points.
His Eagles players outplayed Mikel Arteta’s side for about 80 minutes of the game at the Emirates Stadium.
Vieira spent nine years at Arsenal during his career and captained them to a Premier League title in 2004, winning seven trophies in total.
These days, standards are far lower and the Gunners haven’t even played a Champions League game in close to five years, let alone challenged for the title.
And given his history with the club, Darren Bent has told talkSPORT that the 45-year-old will ‘100 percent’ become Arsenal boss at some point in the future.
He told talkSPORT: “From when Patrick was there last time to now, I’m sure he can’t believe the drop off. Yeah, I think at some point he ends up at Arsenal as manager. 100 per cent.”
Ideal
Arsenal fans would absolutely love Vieira back as manager – and that was before Monday.
But after seeing how well drilled and energetic his team were, the supporters’ desire to see their number four return must have increased quite a lot.
Palace mirrored Vieira during his playing days – industrious as anything, creative and nasty, evident by James McArthur’s challenge on Bukayo Saka.
And how Arsenal fans would love to see their team play like Vieira himself used to.
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