Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned FA Cup final opponents Arsenal that his side will have no inferiority complex, despite being cast as the underdogs.
The Old Trafford outfit are going through a turbulent week with United States businessman Malcolm Glazer grabbing control of the boardroom and doubts over their poor end-of-season form.
Arsenal did lose to Birmingham at the weekend and star striker Thierry Henry is out of the final with an Achilles injury, but the Gunners’ 7-0 trouncing of Everton was a reminder of just how devastating Arsene Wenger’s side can be.
Ferguson can take encouragement from the fact that United have won the last four competitive meetings between the teams, dating back to a Cup semifinal triumph at Villa Park 13 months ago.
”One thing’s for sure, we are certainly not afraid of them,” the Scot told the official Manchester United magazine.
”A lot of teams, particularly some of the weaker teams in the league, tend to be frightened of Arsenal’s pace.
”But that is not an issue for us. We have enough pace in our team and we know how to handle them.
”Any game against Arsenal nowadays is going to have extra tension, but the cup final itself has always been a fantastic experience for us over the years, and you can’t help but think it is a great opportunity to bring silverware to the club.”
After the numerous recent bitter clashes between the sides, culminating in the face-to-face row between respective skippers Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane prior to the most recent meeting at Highbury, there are fears the game could boil over, as the loser is destined to finish the campaign empty-handed.
And there was an early dig by Vieira at Keane, accusing the Irish midfielder of abandoning his country before the 2002 World Cup.
That was in retaliation to reports that Keane had criticised Vieira’s decision to play for France despite being born in Senegal.
”For someone who leaves his team in the World Cup, I think he should keep this kind of remark to himself,” Vieira told The Guardian newspaper, referring to Keane’s bust-up with Ireland manager Mick McCarthy ahead of the 2002 World Cup, when the player returned from Asia.
”He [Keane] does not know my background and I do not want him to make a comment like that because he is not in a good position to say something like that.
”He walked away from his national team when they really needed him.” — Sapa-AFP