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Vieira
was rescued from an unhappy spell at AC Milan by Arsene
Wenger early at the start of 1996. The French central
midfelder only secured four appearances in his fourteen
month spell in Italy and was happy to jump ship when Arsenal
came calling.
Vieira's
career has gone from strength to strength since he arrived
at Highbury and
he has earned himself a World Cup Winners medal and a
European Championship Winners medal with France, appearing
in both Finals, as well as the English 'double' as part
of the triumphant Arsenal team of 1997-98.
The
one big blot on his career is his appaling disciplinary
record, though things appeared to be improving during
the 1999-2000 season everything was brought to a head
as Vieira was sent-off for Arsenal during both of the
first two games of the 2000-2001 Premeirship campaign,
earning him a five match ban.
Vieira
struck back from this major blow by scoring twice in the
game against Charlton, his very next appearance, just
prior to his ban. His enforced absence from the domestic
scene meant that he was available for all of Arsenal's
Champions League games.
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