Patrick Vieira tells Michael Walker he was surprised Roy Keane thought he could comment on the Arsenal player's commitment to his country

Patrick Vieira speaks quietly. Regardless of whether the subject is his liking for a cup of tea, or why so-and-so is not his cup of tea, Vieira's tone and volume barely change. But his views will sound very loud in parts of Manchester.

Particularly to Roy Keane, when he reflects on Vieira's view of his withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland's squad before the 2002 World Cup. The players - and their clubs - have a history, one which is certain to be at the forefront of their minds as they line up against one another in the FA Cup final on Saturday. The most recent memory will be of those scenes in the tunnel at Highbury before United completed the double over Arsenal with a 4-2 victory.

At first, Vieira is mute about the confrontation between himself and Gary Neville that so enraged Keane: "I really have nothing to say about it." But that reluctance soon gives way.

"I will not say I intimidated (Neville), I would say I tried to make a point," Vieira says. "He (Keane) reacted the way I would react if somebody came to talk to one of the Arsenal players - that's what I would expect. It did not surprise me at all, it was a captain's, a leader's reaction. I have big respect for him and all the Man United players, no doubt about it."

Judging by what Keane said shortly after the match, the Irishman has doubts about Vieira. Keane's perception was that Vieira was bullying Neville when the game was still 15 minutes from starting. When Keane then emerged late from the United dressingroom into the tunnel and saw, in his words, "Vieira getting right into Gary Neville again - I mean physically as well now, I don't mean verbally, I said, 'that's it, I'm not having this'."

At that moment Keane embarrassed and infuriated Vieira by asking him why, if he loved Senegal so much, he did not choose to play for them.

The Highbury tunnel images, if not all the words, were captured live on television. Vieira had no retort that night verbally or physically, in fact he accepts that Arsenal were well-beaten, but reflecting on Keane's line about Senegal (Vieira moved to Paris when he was eight and has played 79 times for France), he says: "For someone who leaves his team in the World Cup, I think he should keep this kind of remark to himself.

"He does not know my background and I do not want him to make a comment like that because he is not in a good position to say something like that. He walked away from his national team when they really needed him."

At this point Vieira's tone does alter because Keane's tunnel mockery of Vieira stems from the Irishman's scorn concerning the charity work Vieira does in Senegal. "It makes me laugh," Keane said in an interview with The Irish Times after that February match, "players going on about how they are saving this country and saving that country, but when they have the opportunity to play . . . well, it's probably none of my business."

Vieira's response to that is: "I have nothing to prove to him, I have nothing to prove to him. He is not from Senegal, he is not from Africa, he will not understand. So it is better for him to look after himself and what he's doing.

"Even saying what I have just said does not take away the respect I have for him as a player. When I came to England he was the one I was looking forward to playing against because he is the best in the business in his position. I have big respect for him."

Ironically, Keane had been doing work for the blind in Dublin when he made his comments. But there is little charity between Arsenal and Manchester United, between their managers, or their captains.

That Arsenal have beaten United only once in their last nine meetings suggests that they have become a psychological barrier to the Londoners. Have United got under Arsenal's skin?

"No, not at all," says Vieira. "Of the two games we played this season, the one in Manchester is still in our minds now. We didn't like the way we lost the game, that's all I will say."

No mention of pizza, just an allusion to Wayne Rooney's collapse under Sol Campbell's challenge. "When we lost at Old Trafford that stopped our (unbeaten) record and that is a bad memory because we took so long to recover from it. But when they beat us at home we had nothing to say. On the day, even though we scored first, they were organised and strong, I think they played better than us and deserved to win. You never know what's going to happen, it will be 50-50. The gap between the two is really close.

"There is a lot of passion because the rivalry between the clubs is really high. I think it's exciting - Manchester-Arsenal is like Barcelona-Real Madrid, it's like Milan-Internazionale. As a player you look forward to it."

It is almost nine years since Vieira joined Arsenal from Milan. He will be 29 in June and could scarcely have given more to the Gunners' cause. All of those 79 France caps have been won as an Arsenal player, a club record. August 2006 would mark a decade at the club and it will also see the opening of Arsenal's new stadium.

If sometimes of late Vieira's longevity at Highbury has been under-appreciated it is because over the past three summers in particular Vieira's future has seemed to be elsewhere.

Quoted recently as describing playing in Spain as a "dream", Vieira clarified his position: "I did not say dream because it is not a dream. It was an opportunity last year and I didn't take it. Every summer myself or other players will be targeted by other teams. After that it is up to the club or myself to decide what will happen. I have two years left on my contract and I will be here, no doubt about it.

"I will have been at the club for 10 seasons. It is quite rare to find a foreigner who would spend 10 years at one club. I am really happy because every year I have progressed, even if this one was difficult for me because I feel I didn't perform at my best at the beginning.

"But I went through a difficult period and will come back stronger. I started the season with injuries. I came back and had another injury, my ankle. I have got back to close to my best, but it's too near the end of the season. After the cup final there will be a good rest before starting preparation for what will be a really exciting season for us." First, Cardiff.