Ian Wright: Me and Roy Keane very close

By John Fallon

Twenty years after their on-field tension rivalry ended, Ian Wright insisted his summer squabble with Roy Keane on the pundits’ couch at the World Cup hasn’t dimmed his respect for the Corkman.

Indeed, the former Arsenal striker is miffed that the exchange snowballed at all in the first place.

It relates to Keane’s role as the sole non-Englishman on ITV’s panel for the World Cup semi-final when Croatia ensured football wasn’t coming home.

“You were planning the final and when were the parades were on,” he deadpanned in the direction of Wright, flanked by Gary Neville and Lee Dixon. Then came the coup de grace: “You’re a grown man and need a reality check.” As he did in July in front of millions of viewers, Wright laughed off the spat while on a promotional visit to Dublin yesterday.

A couple of days after creating a show in Moscow, Wright tweeted a picture of the pair at a bar, accompanied by the words ‘me and my mate’. He even gleaned a rare smile from the teetotaler.

“There was a meal made out of that,” asserted Wright yesterday. “I’ve got no issues with Roy. In fact, I’m going to visit him soon.

“Roy and I became very close during the World Cup, spending a lot of time together.

“We really bonded as a group because Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Keano and Ruud Gullit were there.

“Breakfasts, lunches and dinners lasted two hours. It was like the old days. The banter was flowing about that era of Manchester United and Arsenal competing for titles back in the 1990s.

“We were still competitive over in Russia, even in the gym every day.” That competition captivated the public, Wright’s Arsenal playing second fiddle to Keane’s United until his final season with the Gunners when they claimed the double in 1998.

It was moreso Patrick Vieira who the Irishman became synonymous with battling, with his teammate providing an insight into the lengths which the rivalry stretched to.

“Roy and I used to chip away at one another but he was never really around my area on the pitch,” said the former striker who scored 185 goals for the Gunners.

“Once Roy and Patrick got into their battle, you could see the change in Patrick. From the Saturday up until we’d face United, his preparation and demeanour changed. He was tetchy, far more robust and physical in training.

“I look back now, especially after seeing the Keane versus Vieira documentary, and it was fascinating.”

Wright’s respect for Keane, both on and off the pitch, makes him believe he’s still got the skillset to manage.

Although Ireland boss Martin O’Neill expects his sidekick to make a return to club football, his absence has now extended to seven years since his sacking at Ipswich Town.

Whether it is his short temper or history of fall-outs with players, Keane’s phone hasn’t been hopping with calls from owners.

Putting his player’s cap on again, Wright would have no qualms about working with the firebrand.

“I would love to have played with or under Roy,” he stressed.

“I think that he is someone that is like Alex Ferguson in the way he drives players.

“No one is as great as Sir Alex. However, the fact is that Roy drives players to want to be the best that they can be. He is that guy without a doubt.

“His knowledge and his enthusiasm for the game would surprise a lot of people when they see him in an interview.” O’Neill, too, is someone Wright deems employable in England, despite the flak he’s shipping for a woeful run of results.

“Martin will always be in the mix for a vacancy because of his record,” he said for the former Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland chief.

“I am not saying that he will manage Manchester United but could do a job for a Premier League club, especially those in and around 6th to 12th places.”

Both O’Neill and Keane could do with Declan Rice in their team to meet the challenges ahead, both next month and in March when the Euro 2020 qualifiers commence.

As a former West Ham United player, Wright has been observing his fellow Londoner’s progress, placing himself firmly in the moderator’s club when it comes to Rice’s international dilemma.

“He’s in the fortunate position of maybe winning 100 caps with Ireland or try to break into a situation with Gareth Southgate where England are at their most progressive for many, many years,” noted Wright.

Meanwhile Arsenal head coach Unai Emery believes Alexandre Lacazette can only get better after admitting he tried to sign the striker while at Paris St Germain.

The France international has scored 14 goals in his last 24 games for the Gunners, including a brace in a 5-1 win at Fulham before the international break.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s Premier League clash with Leicester at Emirates Stadium (8pm, live on Sky Sports), the Arsenal boss revealed Lacazette was a target ahead of his move to Arsenal.

“When I arrived at PSG we were thinking to sign Lacazette. His quality and his characteristics also we liked at PSG. Also, the people who were working there, they said to us, ‘This player has the quality to play for PSG’ when we were there.”

Despite being a fan of Lacazette, Emery is calling for further improvement from the forward now he has adapted to English football.

“Last year, his first year in the Premier League, it was a different league than the French league also and the position also, the rhythm also, not the mentality because he has a very good mentality and he has very good chances usually to score. He is very efficient. But he needs to continue his adaptation for us, for the Premier League, for the rhythm. This year we are looking at him one step more in this level.”he is doing that.”

Emery is expected to recall Mesut Ozil tonight he missed the 5-1 win at Fulham due to a back spasm.