‘I was an Arsenal youth and asked Roy Keane for autograph but got F-bomb reply’

It wasn't uncommon for Premier League players of the 1990s and early 2000s to find themselves on the receiving end of Roy Keane's wrath – but to do so before one's pro debut is a new feat.

Such was the predicament Steve Sidwell found himself in as a youth at Arsenal when he first encountered the former Republic of Ireland captain. But the future Reading, Chelsea and Fulham midfielder explained how the run-in didn't exactly go to plan during a recent appearance on That Peter Crouch Podcast.

Recalling his time as an understudy with the Gunners, Sidwell said: "I remember Roy Keane. In my first year at YTS [youth training scheme] when I was a scholar, we used to have the halfway house at Highbury. So we'd go in there, wait for players to come past and go for their warm-ups.

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"So I used to go out and I used to have an autograph book, because people would say, 'Can you get me an autograph?' So anyway, United are in town, Becks [David Beckham] come down, [Paul] Scholes. . .signed, signed, signed [the book]. Keane came down. Oh my god.

"Roy Keane came down this tunnel at Highbury – this is when Arsenal and Man U was at their peak. He's staring out onto the pitch [and] the tunnel is tighter than a mouse's earhole. He's looking at the gladiator's arena and I've just gone, 'Roy can you sign this please?' And he's looked at me, looked away and just gone, 'After the f***ing game."

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Sidwell, 40, had hosts Crouch and Chris Stark in stitches as he made a deflating sound before likening himself to the meme of Homer Simpson retreating 'back in the bush'. And one can understand why given Sidwell – who made 185 appearances for Reading – would have been just 16 years old at the time.

Keane went on to play the role of match-winner that day as he scored twice in the second half at Highbury, completing the comeback after Freddie Ljungberg's first-half breakthrough. Sidwell failed to mention whether he ever managed to get that autograph.

The Wandsworth native never got his chance to go up against Keane on the pitch given he only made his Premier League debut with Reading in 2006. United's former enforcer left Old Trafford for Celtic in 2005 and retired from playing the following year.

As for veteran players who were considerably nicer to Sidwell, the red-headed orchestrator credited Ray Parlour with helping him transition into the senior set-up at Arsenal.

In the same chat, Sidwell revealed how him and his wife sat in Jose Mourinho's without 'The Special One' knowing he was there prior to signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2007. The Royals icon was also close to joining Stoke City at one point in his career – but a car burglary convinced him it wasn't the right move.

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