Soccer: Manchester United captain Roy Keane is winning his fight to face Arsenal - and Patrick Vieira - tomorrow night at Highbury. Keane was forced to come off in the 6-2 victory against Newcastle at the weekend, which cast doubts about his appearance in the clash of the top two.

Manager Alex Ferguson, however, believes he will be fit for the game. "Roy should be okay. There is some bruising after a dead leg but hopefully he will be all right," Ferguson said.

The manager also believes Keane will once again prove he is the best midfielder in the premier league. The Corkman was disappointing in United's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg in Spain last week, a stage on which he usually displays his most determined performances.

But Ferguson says his captain was restrained by United's tactics and expects Keane to be back to his all-action best at Highbury.

"It (the criticism) was unfair because I played him in a position which was difficult for him," Ferguson said. "Once he got into the battle in the second half he was much better. He needs to be in the battle, but he is in the midstream of changing his game a little bit and he found it difficult in the first half.

"He needs to be in a fight, 'me against you'. The Arsenal game on Wednesday will suit him more because there will be battles all over the pitch."

Keane has adopted a new, deeper role following hip surgery this season and has abandoned the box-to-box play that made him the most feared competitor in the premier league. That has led critics to suggest he is no longer the dominant force he once was in United's midfield.

Meanwhile, Eric Cantona said yesterday that he expects Ferguson to continue managing Manchester United until he dies on the bench. The good news for Ferguson is that his former striker does not envisage any distressing news in the crunch game at Arsenal, with Cantona tipping United to draw there and go on to win the title.

Cantona knows what makes Ferguson and plenty of the players at Old Trafford tick, having won four championship medals in 4½ seasons there alongside the likes of Keane, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. He believes it is not talent alone that will give United the edge over Arsenal in the final weeks of the campaign.

"In the few games before the end of the season I see Manchester United have the stronger players mentally," the Frenchman said. "All the players (at Manchester United and Arsenal) are good; the teams are good. But with the pressure of the championship I think Manchester United have the stronger players mentally."

Cantona saved his most effusive praise for Ferguson. "He likes other things but football is his life," Cantona said. "There wouldn't be enough in his life without football. I quit, and for the first two years it was very difficult. Playing football is something you dream about from when you are very young. When you quit it's not easy, even if you are a manager.

"Sometimes I think I quit too young because I love the game, but I didn't have the passion (any more) to go to bed early, not go out with friends, not drink and not do a lot of things. But Alex Ferguson can cope with that and he will do it. I think he will die on the bench of Manchester United."

Cantona was speaking after being named overseas player of the decade at an awards ceremony marking the first 10 seasons of the Premier League.