'I played for Man Utd and Ashley Cole screamed in my face – I was like what the f***'

In the infamous tunnel incident between Manchester United and Arsenal tensions between the two rivals boiled over, but it was Sir Alex Ferguson's side who had the last laugh

The infamous tunnel clash between Manchester United and Arsenal almost got to a breaking point without a ball being kicked.

The 2005 fixture between the bitter rivals was filled with tension and came just four months after the controversy of 'Pizzagate' where a pizza slice - thrown by a 17-year-old Cesc Fabregas - landed on Sir Alex Ferguson after United's 2-0 victory at Old Trafford which ended the Gunners' 49-match unbeaten streak.

The Highbury tunnel fight had the makings of another action-packed fixture before kick-off after tensions between captains Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira almost resulted in an all-out brawl between the two Premier League teams.

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The former United skipper aimed his wrath at the Frenchman who had words for Gary Neville before stepping out onto the pitch. The ex-England international explained to Soccer AM in 2007 what he was told by the 1998 World Cup winner, as he said: "I could hear these footsteps behind me and Vieira shouting, 'Neville! Neville! You're not going to kick our players out on this pitch today."

Keane, 52, said Vieira's "bullying" of his United team-mate forced him to take matters into his own hands as he explained in his book The Second Half. "I don't think it was intimidation; it was bullying," the Irishman remarked.

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"I was there to do a job. 'Win the game - get in and get out'. But it was a bit like the build-up to a boxing match - the weigh-in, the press conferences - when people forget that there'll actually be a fight."

Neville opened up about the tasty clash during the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, where he was joined by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. "The tunnel game at Arsenal – they were so fired up before the game," the 48-year-old said.

"Arsenal scored the first goal – it was 4-2, we [Manchester United] won in the end. I’m literally sat next to Ashley Cole in the dressing room for England, for six, seven, eight years, and Ash comes up to me screaming in my face, 'you f***ing...', after they score the first goal.

The full-backs were England team-mates but the tribalism of English football at times put club allegiances ahead of international allegiances, which certainly shocked Neville. He added: "Cole – the most placid – brilliant lad, I’m like, ‘what the f***’? A couple of weeks later, you’re literally sat there next to him shaking hands. There was so much going on!"