Micah Richards and a 'terrified' Theo Walcott brazenly attempt to reignite the rivalry between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira

Ahead of Manchester City's clash with Arsenal, an old rival almost returned to our screens as Micah Richards and Theo Walcott played with fire.

On Sky Sports, the pair were part of a packed studio line-up for the game and were joined Manchester United icon Roy Keane.

And ahead of the Premier League decider, they were all joined by the Gunners icon. Patrick Vieira in a video link from Chicago.

However, former Manchester City star Richards quickly attempted to reignite the on-pitch feud he once had with Keane as he playfully taunted the Frenchman.

Richards said, “Patrick, it's Big Meeks. How's the vibe in Chicago? Do you miss us?”

“I've got your friend (Keane) in the studio with us. Why aren't you here? Are you scared? Are you running scared? What's going on?”

And he quickly got an answer.

“I can't be in the same room as Roy Keane, so it's better to be in Chicago,” Vieira joked.

Richards added: “Who started this?”

Before Walcott intervened: “He hasn't kicked me yet, but I want to know who kicked me more, him or you, Patrick? Who started the famous debate, let's say?”

And Vieira was not going to avoid the funny scene that was unfolding and gave a great laugh to those who were at the Eithad.

He replied: “I think he was the one who started it because he was always afraid of me and every time he faced me he was quite afraid of the quality and the challenges I was giving him.”

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Keane had been calmly watching the banter unfold around him and finally picked the perfect moment to speak his mind.

“Patrick, you know I was never afraid of you. You're kidding yourself,” he said with calm authority.

And Walcott quickly attempted to change the subject, adding: “Patrick, I'm actually terrified for Roy right now, we've definitely stirred up a hornet's nest.”

Keane and Vieira are now quite close compared to their playing days, when they had a fierce battle that lasted 12 games in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

On one occasion, between Arsenal and Manchester United, the two almost got into a fight in the tunnel.

“I could hear footsteps behind me and Vieira shouting: 'Neville! Neville! You are not going to kick our players off this pitch today,'” Neville recalled.

“Roy obviously turned around, heard him and started attacking him. He (Vieira) threw his water bottle at Roy and then all hell broke loose.”

“I felt like Gary was being bullied,” Keane later reflected in his book The Second Half. “I don't think it was bullying, but harassment.”

He added: “I was there to do a job. 'Win the match, 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 there's actually going to be a fight.

“I think football can lack a bit of that energy, that tension. It was great, but years later people talk about the tunnel and don't remember the game that was played afterwards.”