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Patrick Vieira can underline Arsenal's decline and need for change when he takes Palace to the Emirates

Of all the subplots contained within Patrick Vieira's return to Arsenal on Monday, perhaps the most curious is this: The man trying to beat the Gunners is also a man trying to buy them.

The 45-year-old occupies a curious position given that he's now the manager of a Crystal Palace side attempting to win a Premier League game at Emirates Stadium for only the second time in 20 visits, while also remaining part of a consortium that had a £1.8 billion takeover bid rejected earlier this year. Spotify owner Daniel Ek was the front man, but within his inner circle were three club legends -- Vieira, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp -- all of whom hail from an era Arsenal have struggled to recapture ever since the trio's playing careers ended in the mid- to late-2000s.