According to the Sunday Times of London, Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy is considering suing former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira for statements in his autobiography, due to hit book stands this month.
In the book, Vieira calls the Dutchman ''a cheat,'' ''a coward,'' ''deceitful,'' ''a nasty piece of work'' and a ''son of a b****.''
The Frenchman's venom grew out of incidents in Arsenal-Manchester United games, including a postgame tunnel encounter during which Vieira implies Van Nistelrooy chickened out of a fight:
''I said, 'Watch it, or I'm going to land one on you,''' says Vieira, who says other players intervened to prevent a fight that the Dutchman hoped to avoid. ''This altercation confirmed my view that not only is Van Nistelrooy a cheat, he lacks courage.''