Old Foe admires Vieira

Steve Stammers13 April 2012

Patrick Vieira will be up against a familiar face when Arsenal take on Lyon in the Champions League tomorrow but however competitive it gets he can at least be assured he won't be facing any dirty tricks.

His midfield opponent will be former West Ham player Marc-Vivien Foe, who has nothing but admiration for Vieira. Foe said: "He is my kind of player, someone whose style I really admire. I have so much respect for him. When I heard that West Ham manager Harry Redknapp had compared me with him I took it as a great compliment. Patrick is world class. I know he has his problems and maybe it is better for him at the moment to stay quiet and just play his football.

"But he is, I think, a target for other teams. They say that if you stop Vieira, you stop Arsenal. But I don't know why everybody wants to fight with him because he is a very good professional. If I play against him it will be a big test for me. He plays the game in the way I like to play it."

Vieira will be returning to action in France after serving a one-match ban on Saturday for kicking Olivier Dacourt at Leeds in November and he knows Foe will be no pushover.

When Redknapp signed Foe from Lens two years ago, he said West Ham had acquired their own version of Vieira. Although he impressed with some powerful performances, the 25-year-old Cameroon international did not quite live up to that billing and last summer he moved to Lyon. He will be keen to show he's made up some ground on the man who eclipsed him on his home Premiership debut two seasons ago.

Foe recalled: "How can I forget it. It was the first time I had played at Upton Park after my move from Lens and we were playing Arsenal. It was a big game for the club and a big game for me. I wanted to do well so badly."

As it turned out, they were hammered 4-0 and Vieira was at the hub of everything Arsenal created.

A season on and Foe and Vieira crossed swords again in a match that will be remembered as much for the infamous spitting incident involving Arsenal's World Cup and Euro 2000 winner as the 2-1 victory for West Ham. Foe also saw red that day after collecting a second booking. Despite those miserable experiences, Foe does not regret coming to England. He said: "I loved my time at West Ham and I would love to go back there one day.

"For me, it will always mean two things - it is a family club with a great spirit and lots of people saying: ' 'Arry, 'Arry'. I miss it. I miss the atmosphere at the club. If I get the chance in maybe three or four years I would like to play for them again. I would certainly like the chance to play in England again even if it is not at West Ham. I enjoyed myself."

Whether he will enjoy himself tomorrow remains to be seen. The head-to-head with Vieira has been described by Lyon's Sonny Anderson as one of the crucial contests of the night but Foe knows Arsenal are full of good players. He added: "They have really good players throughout the team and I know from my own experiences that it is going to be a hard battle.

"After our win against Moscow Spartak, we have an excellent chance of making the next round.

"But we need to do well against Arsenal. They are just as motivated because they have to win. It should be very interesting."

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