" Fergie´s View: Arsenal preview "
Sir Alex Ferguson faced the press ahead of United´s trip south for the potential title decider against Arsenal. This is what the boss had to say...
Injuries
" Fabien Barthez and David Beckham are OK, they´ve trained this morning and are one hundred percent. The little doubts we have are John O´Shea, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane. We´re taking 21 players down with us to cover all eventualities."
Changes to the team
" I don´t think I´ll be playing the side I played on Saturday, simply because of injuries. I hope to get one of them fit, and with David Beckham coming back it gives me options. It depends on who else is fit, but I would think that David will be playing."
Newcastle game
" It was a marvellous performance, and the atmosphere in the dressing room beforehand was magnificent. It wasn´t overemotional, it was a nice balance. There was a quietness but also a great preparation within the players´ minds about the game.
" The Real Madrid game helped us. When you play in a game of that stature and magnitude it can only help. We may have lost 3-1 but I still maintain we played well in the attacking part of the game. The players were disappointed with the defending, not so much with being opened up, but with the positions they took up at times. They didn´t handle the boy Raul, but going into the Newcastle game they enjoyed the actual part of being in Madrid. It was a great learning curve."
Not a title decider
" It´s not a title decider as such, because as long as you´ve got games left it´s not a title decider. We´ve got four left and Arsenal have got five left. I would say it´s the biggest game of the season, though. We´ve got this game first so we want to concentrate on that. Whatever happens after that, happens."
Big chance
" We´ve got where we are now and we´re delighted about that. We´ve got our chance and hopefully we´ll take it tomorrow. It´s going to be a marvellous game."
Anyone can win it
" The game could be won in any department, not just midfield. You´ve got a lot of good players out there, terrific players. In that situation any player can win it. We need to keep the momentum that we´ve built up over the last few weeks up and see where it takes us."
Eric Cantona saying United will win the title
" I hope he´s right. He knows his stuff!"
Eric on Fergie staying at Old Trafford for life and dying on the bench
" I didn´t like that bit! Especially the reference to where I´m going to finish my life! I hope it´s a long time ahead yet!"
