3. Patrick Vieira
During his time at Arsenal, Patrick Vieira was without doubt one of the very best box-to-box midfielders in the world, utilizing his gigantic 6’4” frame, athleticism and technique to dominate in the middle of the park.
Indeed, while at Arsenal the big Frenchman won three league titles and four FA Cups, combining with other world-class talents like Robert Pirès, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and a young Ashley Cole – the team of 2001/02 is normally credited as being the greatest Arsenal squad ever.
After coming second to the exceptional Chelsea squad of 2004/05, Vieira decided that he had lingered at the north London club for long enough and in August 2005 he signed a five-year contract with Italian giants Juventus in a deal reported to be worth £13.75 million. In spite of enjoying an exceptional first season with Juve, all the controversy and bribery allegations surrounding the club’s 2005/06 season and the resulting relegation to Serie B meant that they were forced to offload a chunk of their expensive talent including Zlatan Ibrahimović, Gianluca Zambrotta and Patrick Vieira.
The Frenchman then spent four-years experiencing limited success at Inter Milan before finishing his career at Manchester City and in so doing damaging his legacy at Arsenal. Arguably the midfielder would have been better off staying at Highbury (or later the Emirates).
During his time at Arsenal, Patrick Vieira was without doubt one of the very best box-to-box midfielders in the world, utilizing his gigantic 6’4” frame, athleticism and technique to dominate in the middle of the park.
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| Patrick Vieira |
After coming second to the exceptional Chelsea squad of 2004/05, Vieira decided that he had lingered at the north London club for long enough and in August 2005 he signed a five-year contract with Italian giants Juventus in a deal reported to be worth £13.75 million. In spite of enjoying an exceptional first season with Juve, all the controversy and bribery allegations surrounding the club’s 2005/06 season and the resulting relegation to Serie B meant that they were forced to offload a chunk of their expensive talent including Zlatan Ibrahimović, Gianluca Zambrotta and Patrick Vieira.
The Frenchman then spent four-years experiencing limited success at Inter Milan before finishing his career at Manchester City and in so doing damaging his legacy at Arsenal. Arguably the midfielder would have been better off staying at Highbury (or later the Emirates).
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