Bonus slide: No Patrick Vieira vs Roy Keane battles which would have made Barton v Cattermole the biggest “hardman” rivalry in England
All Arsenal and Manchester United fans remember what a mouthwatering spectacle the Keane vs Vieira battles used to be. Whether on the pitch or off it, every game brought some new form of controversy which just added to an already raging rivalry. From pizza throwing to leg breaking tackles, it had everything a great rivalry should.
Without Wenger, though, there would have been no Patrick Vieira at Arsenal and hence no rivalry.
Fans would probably have to have been content with Joey Barton hurling abuse at Lee Cattermole or something to that extent. But who knows, that may have turned out even better than the abovementioned rivalry did.
Could you picture a 20-year-old Lee sliding in on an irate Joey? What if it was Cattermole and not Barton’s own teammate Ousmane Dabo, who was lucky enough to receive a roundhouse to the face?
Cattermole might even have converted one of his 59 yellow cards to a red with a well-timed elbow to the former Manchester City midfielder’s face. The duo might even have had a spitting contest along with a Twitter battle. Also, it may have been Cattermole and not the poor Everton fans who got a close-up view of Barton’s backside.
Would make for some fine watching for sure. Alas, what has Wenger deprived the world of?
