United are tough enough for title
Tony Adams
Sunday December 8, 2002
The Observer
It was a bit of a surprise to see the newspapers yesterday all picking up my opinion from a Sky Sports interview that I thought Manchester United would beat Arsenal at Old Trafford. It was nice that I hadn't been forgotten.
It also occurred to me that I am still doing Arsenal's motivational work for them. It was an honestly held opinion. I had seen United working hard for each other in recent weeks and also believed Arsenal to be playing a little too openly, leaving defenders isolated. And so it was in United's 2-0 win, though it gives me little pleasure to be proved right.
I can now say publicly what I used to say to Arséne Wenger privately on occasion, that the most crucial area of any game is getting the numbers and balance right in midfield.
Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires are wonderful players going forward, but I don't think you can play them both away from home. I believe Arsenal are missing Ray Parlour. Much is said about the two central midfield players acting as shields for the back four, and Patrick Vieira and Man Utd Petit were certainly that when we won the Double in '98. But it has to come from elsewhere as well.
When Arsenal won at Old Trafford at the end of last season to clinch the Championship, Edu was also playing. Now, neither Parlour nor Edu may be technically as gifted as Ljungberg and Pires, but they do bring you a greater resilience.
United had it yesterday with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, also great attacking players, working hard to help out Juan Sebastian Veron, who played as well as I have seen him for United. What impressed me was the way his team-mates got him going. United thus looked to have more grit-and-determination players and there was a camaraderie to them, similar to that of Arsenal at the end of last season. Everyone was working for each other.
I was grateful not to be playing, so high was United's tempo, so eagerly were they pressing in pairs the Arsenal player in possession, right from the kick-off. There was too much of a burden on Vieira and Gilberto Silva and thus the Arsenal back four.
The Manchester United defence also impressed me. I personally think that Laurent Blanc is not the player he was and like the look of Mikael Silvestre in there. It was also noticeable how much Gary Neville cared and I think that transmitted itself to the rest of the team. The other full-back, John O'Shea, is a fantastic player in my opinion.
He is naturally a central defender, but took to the position well and brings the team a freshness that can give enthusiasm to the older players, in the way that I enjoyed the exuberance of Ashley Cole when he broke into the Arsenal team.
We saw glimpses of Arsenal's superior talent in patches, talent that makes them the most exciting team in the country,
but I remain convinced that the difference between first and second is resilience, especially away.
A consolation for Arsenal, though they have lost four league games, is that the top teams all look capable of taking points off each other. I still believe that they can win the Champions League, which in the knockout stages places a premium on talent, but in the Premiership, which is a test of endurance and stickability, Manchester United, my tip in these pages at the start of the season, are now looking ominous.
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<a href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,855943,00.html" target="_blank">http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,855943,00.html</a>
Tony Adams
Sunday December 8, 2002
The Observer
It was a bit of a surprise to see the newspapers yesterday all picking up my opinion from a Sky Sports interview that I thought Manchester United would beat Arsenal at Old Trafford. It was nice that I hadn't been forgotten.
It also occurred to me that I am still doing Arsenal's motivational work for them. It was an honestly held opinion. I had seen United working hard for each other in recent weeks and also believed Arsenal to be playing a little too openly, leaving defenders isolated. And so it was in United's 2-0 win, though it gives me little pleasure to be proved right.
I can now say publicly what I used to say to Arséne Wenger privately on occasion, that the most crucial area of any game is getting the numbers and balance right in midfield.
Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires are wonderful players going forward, but I don't think you can play them both away from home. I believe Arsenal are missing Ray Parlour. Much is said about the two central midfield players acting as shields for the back four, and Patrick Vieira and Man Utd Petit were certainly that when we won the Double in '98. But it has to come from elsewhere as well.
When Arsenal won at Old Trafford at the end of last season to clinch the Championship, Edu was also playing. Now, neither Parlour nor Edu may be technically as gifted as Ljungberg and Pires, but they do bring you a greater resilience.
United had it yesterday with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, also great attacking players, working hard to help out Juan Sebastian Veron, who played as well as I have seen him for United. What impressed me was the way his team-mates got him going. United thus looked to have more grit-and-determination players and there was a camaraderie to them, similar to that of Arsenal at the end of last season. Everyone was working for each other.
I was grateful not to be playing, so high was United's tempo, so eagerly were they pressing in pairs the Arsenal player in possession, right from the kick-off. There was too much of a burden on Vieira and Gilberto Silva and thus the Arsenal back four.
The Manchester United defence also impressed me. I personally think that Laurent Blanc is not the player he was and like the look of Mikael Silvestre in there. It was also noticeable how much Gary Neville cared and I think that transmitted itself to the rest of the team. The other full-back, John O'Shea, is a fantastic player in my opinion.
He is naturally a central defender, but took to the position well and brings the team a freshness that can give enthusiasm to the older players, in the way that I enjoyed the exuberance of Ashley Cole when he broke into the Arsenal team.
We saw glimpses of Arsenal's superior talent in patches, talent that makes them the most exciting team in the country,
but I remain convinced that the difference between first and second is resilience, especially away.
A consolation for Arsenal, though they have lost four league games, is that the top teams all look capable of taking points off each other. I still believe that they can win the Champions League, which in the knockout stages places a premium on talent, but in the Premiership, which is a test of endurance and stickability, Manchester United, my tip in these pages at the start of the season, are now looking ominous.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<a href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,855943,00.html" target="_blank">http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,855943,00.html</a>
