What about Vieira's touch to take the goalkeeper out?! And he could do that in his sleep.
I think it was Klaus the other day that said without Henry the rest of the Invincibles wouldn't have won a thing, and I understand where he's coming from because what Henry gave you in the final third could not be replicated, but I have watched a lot of football since and Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and, most of all, Patrick Vieira at their peaks are still the best I've seen.
The first two might be some bias on my part; Sol dropped off pretty quickly, his last season was poor but, for me, his peak years, so from 2001-04, were near perfection: brains, leadership, speed, fight and aggression, athleticism, super strength, unbeatable in the air--alright he didn't offer much on the ball, other centrebacks have him beat there, but everything else was near flawless. Cole is the best two way fullback, never mind left back, I've seen; a few have had better touch and technique: Marcelo and Dani Alves spring to mind, but I think Cole is extremely underrated in this respect, his defensive ability puts the other technically gifted fullbacks to shame though; he could hold his own against anyone and had a rare mix of aggression, athleticism, speed and know-how. I'd have him and Sol over anyone in the past 20 years.
As I say, perhaps I'm a little Arsenal biased saying those two are the best in their positions; lots of fans of other clubs would disagree, I'm sure, but, Vieira, no, he's different. Not one single player comes close and I wouldn't listen to a word from Liverpool, Chelsea or United fans that put forward Gerrard, Lampard and Keane as considerations. Good as those players were, Vieira was the ultimate. Never have I seen a player that could move like he could, physically dominate all other midfielders/players and yet with such delicate touch in tight spaces and the ability to turn of a dime despite being 6'4", a right foot with which he could play any pass and the brain to see them, too, whilst also being as mean as the worst of them, an incredible tackler, with a sixth sense for danger; and to top it off, he was about as good a one-v-one finisher as any striker: the rich catalogue of finishes through the years cannot be argued with.
He is the best central midfielder I have seen play, and not just by a little bit. Others will talk of players that have got more goals and assists, but that was never the job of a centre midfielder: I still don't think it is, although 3-man midfields being common place has changed that somewhat. Vieira was too busy protecting his defence, winning tackle after tackle, starting 5 counter-attacks/half, running the midfield and laying the foundation for the superstar attackers to inflict damage, to make speculative runs ahead of the ball that might result in more goals for himself, but would leave the team open if it didn't work out (see Stevie Me or Fat Frank, or even our very own Rambo). No, when Vieira went it was invariably because he used his genius to sense the moment, and if his run was picked out, he was usually deadly.
For some reason, he's a little bit the forgotten hero of Arsenal. Perhaps because of how it ended or because he went later to City and hasn't had much to do with Arsenal since he left; but this man was a phenomenon! Like Henry, the mould was broken after he was created; what a fighter, what a leader and captain he was, but, my god, what a player!
I think I could watch Arsenal for another 50 years, coronavirus permitting, and I don't think I'll see better than Campbell, Cole, Vieira and Henry.
