SIR ALEX FERGUSON will tell his Manchester United players: Stop Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott and you can stop Arsenal.
Midfield playmaker Fabregas is back from injury – and back to his brilliant best, according to boss Arsene Wenger.
Ferguson, who watched Arsenal cruise past Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, said: “He played very, very well. He is a wonderful footballer.
“He’s taken a few games to get his rhythm back but I felt, on Sunday, he did very well.”
Ferguson admitted he had fancied signing Fabregas when he was a teenager. But he said: “Arsenal were in before us. We saw him in a youth tournament but he had already made a decision to go to Arsenal.
“I think you’re always interested in the best young players, sometimes you get them sometimes you don’t.”
As he prepared for United’s first all-English Champions League semi-final – they beat Chelsea in last season’s final – Ferguson also acknowledged the danger presented by another outstanding youngster, 20-year-old Walcott.
Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon gave United left-back Patrice Evra a torrid time on Saturday – and in-form Walcott will aim to do a similar job tonight.
Ferguson said: “Patrice is quick enough for that. He has played against Walcott a few times. We are all right with that.
“Listen, when you are playing against good players you have got to assess everything about them, in the sense of looking at the best way to oppose them.
“And we have to do our homework because the boy Walcott is very quick.
“He’s probably the quickest forward in England at the moment. We just have to prepare the right way.”
Ferguson renews the oldest managerial rivalry in the Premier League – 12 years – when Wenger brings his young Gunners to Old Trafford, though this is the first time the two men have pitted their wits on the European stage.
It promises to be a classic. The United boss said: “It’s an untypical semi-final because it is two English teams, but the principles are the same: you hope you win your home game and don’t lose a goal.
“That is always the case in a European tie. But it won’t be decided tomorrow, I feel sure of that. There will be a lot of football left at the Emirates Stadium.
“Looking at the tie itself, and looking at the players who will be on view, you almost think this is the perfect semi-final.
“It is full of terrific footballers and both teams play terrific football. It could be that way. It has an appetising look about it.
“I like the way Arsenal play. There are similarities in the way both teams play football.
“Both teams also believe in young players. We have now given eight players from our Academy debuts in the first team this season. That’s fantastic for a team challenging for honours the way that we have to.
“So the similarities are there strongly. And the history and traditions of both clubs have always been the highest.
“For years now we have looked over our shoulders at Arsenal and they looked over their shoulders at us.
“Now, we have Chelsea banging on the door and, this season, Liverpool are making a big effort.
“So, it is a very, very competitive league but ourselves and Arsenal over a long period have certainly been the dominant forces in English football.”
Ferguson made one thing plain. He will give Arsenal his utmost respect – even if others weren’t doing that as the Gunners struggled in the first half of the season.
“There is always a danger of that if a team is not actually challenging for the championship,” he said.
“But they are unbeaten in their last 20 league games, so they have a very good current record.
“This is why we have prepared the best possible way. “We think we have enough freshness in the team now.
“That period when we were playing quite a few games in a short space of time has now changed a little bit and the extra bit of rest is helping us.”
Fergie would not be drawn on the current state of his relationship with Wenger. The duo have clashed many times down the years after some feisty battles between the teams – including the infamous “Pizzagate” incident in October 2004, when Ferguson had pizza thrown over him from the Gunners’ dressing room after United’s 2-0 win.
“I don’t think that matters, what your relationship is with anyone, and that includes my players and their players, who know each other of course,” he added.
“Arsene has always stuck to his principles and I think that’s great credit to him.
“His consistency hasn’t changed and I think Arsenal have reaped the rewards of that for the last 12 years.
“Tomorrow they’ll do what they always do and have a go – no doubt about that.” Ferguson promised United will do the same.
“Football is about risk. You can see how often we’ve taken risks over the years,” he said.
“It’s part of Manchester United. You’ve got to risk to win games. Not a problem for me, that.
“I’ve seen us many times in the last 15 minutes of matches having centre- halves playing centre-forward and going gung-ho. It’s always worth it to win a game.”
Asked about the criticism of Wenger when Arsenal were having problems in the autumn, Ferguson quipped: “Well, that’s the cynical world we’re in now.
“Don’t forget you had me out the door three years ago. Bloody hell! You had me in a bath chair down on Torquay beach.”
That was after United crashed out at the group stage in 2006. Now it’s a different story as they bid to become the first club to retain the Champions League.
“I never knew that was the case,” said Ferguson. “Therefore, you say it would be great if we could be the one to do that. I think it’s quite exciting for us.”
