Arsenal welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates on Monday night for a game Arsenal fans everywhere are looking forward to as much as the Palace manager, it seems.
Assured of a great reception, Vieira said he would ‘answer that after the game’ when he was asked if it would be hard for him to control his emotions.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Vieira told reporters.
“I had a chance to play for this club for nine years – I arrived when I was a kid and left as a man.
“This is the club where I played my best football, so obviously going back will be emotional.
“But I will put that on the side because what is important for us is to perform well and try to get the points.”
Asked about Mikel Arteta, Vieira said, “He is somebody who understood when he was playing that going into a managerial area was something he wanted to do.
“I think when he was under pressure he did really well as he’s always been calm and composed.”
Oddly, Arteta said he ‘hoped’ Arsenal fans would give Vieira a good reception although there seems little prospect of him getting anything else.
Asked about his support for Daniel Ek’s takeover bid of Arsenal, Vieria said, “I was expressing myself as Patrick, ex-Arsenal football player.
“That comment was based on how the direction was going and I was talking to someone who maybe had a different view and different way of taking Arsenal.
“I am in a different position to a couple of months ago so I’m not going to express myself in the same way as when I was just an ex-Arsenal player.
“The situation, at the time, it was clear that the Kroenke family were making the statement that the club was not for sale and then it was over.”