Football: Keane double enough to shoot down the Gunners; Arsenal 1 Manchester United 2.

Manchester United captain Roy Keane survived a heated confrontation with Patrick Vieira to score two goals and clinch victory over arch-rivals Arsenal in a full-blooded encounter at Highbury.

After falling behind to a 41st-minute strike by Fredrik Ljungberg, United produced a thrilling comeback, which - if not of Nou Camp proportions - was still enough to inflict Arsenal's first home League defeat since December 1997.

Keane shook off speculation over his future to equalise on the hour-mark and then secured the victory which took his side back to the top of the table with the winner two minutes from time.

Arsenal believed they had secured a draw in the final seconds only for a strike by Martin Keown to be ruled out for a foul on Raimond van der Gouw resulting in the keeper being stretchered off.

However, the main controversy of an enthralling game came in between Keane's goals, when the Irishman was involved in a fracas with Vieira.

After being fouled by his midfield rival, Keane appeared to react angrily and the Frenchman then seemed to shove his forehead against his opponent's head in what some observers felt was a head-butt.

But even though the incident led to scuffles involving a melee of players, referee Graham Poll only gave Vieira and Keane a stern lecture.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insisted that he had not seen what happened but added: "Roy Keane is not especially an angel or known for that.

"I will study the video, judge it for myself and then see what happens."

Wenger believed that referee Poll was far too "lenient" in the early stages and should have punished three fouls on Vieira with bookings, wondering aloud what would have happened if the Frenchman had been the culprit on those occasions.

United coach Steve McClaren also claimed to have been unsighted when Vieira clashed with Keane and played down the importance of the incident.

He maintained: "Football matches are bound to be physical and there's no more physical people who want to win more than Vieira and Roy so these things are to be expected and there's been no mention of it in the dressing-room."

The United camp preferred to concentrate on the way Keane had put the speculation over his future behind him to focus on his crucial role in the side.

The Irishman continues to insist that he will make no firm decision over his future until the end of the season, even though reports claim that Juventus have already agreed terms with his advisers.

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson declared: "I've never had any doubts about his commitment and his performance today tells you that.

"He's focused on the team, he's the captain and he wants to try to lead us to another triumph.

"I think you saw the quality of both sides in quite an enthralling match to my mind. It's an important result."

Ferguson added that United are waiting on the extent of Van der Gouw's injury - a nasty lump under his eye - especially as Mark Bosnich is already out with a hamstring problem but the Dutchman may be fit to play against Coventry on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Wenger was left with the task of restoring his players' morale after succumbing to United's late rally, especially as the Gunners still lost the title last season even after taking four points off their main rivals.

The Arsenal boss declared: "It's not only a psychological blow but a mathematical blow as well as we dropped points against one of the teams who will fight for the championship.

"How we respond is the most important thing now."

Time for fans to

take all control

Tom Kelly looks at Sky Sports' recently launched interactive service.

For the fans who squeezed into Highbury yesterday, Arsenal's clash with Manchester United seemed like an ordinary match. But for some of those who watched at home, it was a whole new ball game.

Sky Sports launched the world's first interactive football coverage with different camera angles and instant replays all available at the touch of a button. It didn't disappoint.

Ten minutes in and an Andy Cole header hit the Arsenal cross-bar. Instantly, we see it replayed from a different angle.

A push on the remote control and we see it from behind the goal. Another push and we have information on Cole.

It feels more like playing a computer game than watching a live football match.

Who was the guilty party when Roy Keane clashed with Patrick Vieira? Did Martin Keown make a fair challenge on goalkeeper Raimond Van Der Gouw? And was Ray Parlour at fault for Keane's winning goal?

The technology is most useful when disputed refereeing decisions occur. No longer must we wait for Andy Gray. Instead, we can instantly see the incident for ourselves again and again.

Viewers who subscribe to Sky Sports 1 and 2 on digital television for pounds 27 a month will receive the new service at no extra cost.

The amount of features makes it tempting to spend the entire game watching replays rather than seeing the game live.

And with two action shots on-screen at once, clock and a mini-scoreboard among other things, the simple act of watching a game can get confusing.

But all the technology cannot help you change the result. It's still the goals that count.

Article Details

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Author:	Bradley, Mark
Publication:	The Birmingham Post (England)
Date:	Aug 23, 1999
Words:	886
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