Vieira takes to Twitter hotseat

UEFA.com gave users the chance to send in their questions to 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000 winner Patrick Vieira. The former France midfielder made 107 appearances during a 12-year international career for Les Bleus and took time out of his current role as the football development executive at Manchester City FC to answer users' tweets. The ex-Arsenal FC man shared his thoughts on who has impressed him most at UEFA EURO 2012 as well as the highs and lows of an illustrious playing career.

@jvella7gooner: Would you like to return to Arsenal at some stage in the future, and is it where you belong?

Vieira: I don't know if I will return to Arsenal one day. I certainly spent my best years at Arsenal, and Arsenal will always be part of my heart whatever happens. You must make some choices in your life, for your career and choose one direction or the other. Whatever happens, Arsenal will always be a part of me.

@AlexMacdonald4: Who has been Patrick's best player of the EUROs so far?

Patrick Vieira: I think the best player of this EURO so far is [Mario] Gomez, the German player. He deserves to be there because he's scored three goals in two games. [Mesut] Özil is a player that I appreciate a lot as well because he is nice to watch and is always on the ball. Then there are players like [Andrey] Arshavin, the Russian player, who has played two great games.

It's always difficult, there are players like Robin van Persie with the Netherlands, who created many opportunities in both games, especially during the first one. There are many players but it is only the start of the competition.

iamNnaji: How did you feel when you signed for Arsenal?

Vieira: The first time I signed for Arsenal, I didn't know what to expect at all. The first days convinced me that I'd made the right choice, I was at a club that was developing and that wanted to become great. It was very exciting and interesting to be part of that adventure. On top of that there were some legendary players like Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Dennis Bergkamp. For me it was the icing on the cake, I learned a lot by being around such players.

@TheMrHogan: Which team do you think has looked the best at EURO so far?

Vieira: For me, Germany are the best team that I have seen play so far because of their team work. In order to win a competition like this you need more than individual quality, you need the team spirit and I think that the Germans have it. We're only at the beginning of the competition but Germany are favourites.

@kliff83: Patrick, what do you think about the Italian national team? Are they better with Balotelli or with Di Natale? Cassano or Giovinco?

Vieira: The Italian team surprised a lot of people when they played against Spain. They surprised me because they played football, simple as that. Most people expected to see an Italian team defend for 90 minutes but they showed that they possess great players with [Andrea] Pirlo and Thiago Motta in midfield and [Mario] Balotelli, who had a great game. When [Antonio] Di Natale came on he scored straight away but Balotelli's work was very important in the first hour. Regarding the decisions about who will play and who won't, I think the coach will make better decisions than me.

@Lewis_Fowler8: What is your happiest memory of your time at Arsenal?

Vieira: My best memories at Arsenal were winning the first title in '98 and winning the FA Cup in 2005 right before leaving the club. I took the last penalty, which won us the FA Cup. These are the two best moments from my career at Arsenal.

@hakanozerdem: What were the best and worst moments of your career?

Vieira: It's difficult to choose one best moment because there were many of them. EURO 2000, the World Cup in 1998 and the first title with Arsenal were the three best moments of my sporting life. As for the worst one, I think that would be when we lost the final of the UEFA Cup with Arsenal against Galatasaray, it was a difficult moment. Not being called up for EURO 2008 was a tough moment as well but overall there are more positives than negatives.

@jamesnic86: Who was the best Spurs player that you played against?

Vieira: The best Tottenham player I played against would have to be David Ginola because he represented the real class at Tottenham. He was a difficult player to play against and a player that could do everything.