Former Arsenal striker John Hartson has spoken of the first time Patrick Vieira joined the club.
The former Gunners captain returns to Arsenal with Crystal Palace for the first time as a manager.
Hartson recalled: “The first thing we all noticed about Patrick was that he didn't even look like a footballer.
“He was very tall and gangly with really thin legs and he was also a bit bandy. None of us had ever heard of him because although he'd come from Milan he'd hardly played for them and he was still only a boy at the time.
“He was also quite shy and softly spoken because he didn't know a lot of the language. But as soon as he stepped on to the training pitch we knew straight away he was something special.
“He was a physical monster of a guy and he could look after himself from day one.
“Straight away he was barging into Tony Adams, Martin Keown and myself and controlling our practice games from the middle of the park.
“There's not many players that have been as fearsome in the tackle as Roy Keane, but Patrick revelled in his battles with him and so did the crowds."
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