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Reds' Evra mocks Arsenal as pretty but trophyless
Source: Agencies |
December 11, 2010, Saturday
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MANCHESTER United defender Patrice Evra has taunted Arsenal before tomorrow's visit to Old Trafford by saying the English Premier League leader may be nice to watch but it is not a proper title contender.
The Londoners have a one-point lead over United but have played a game more than the Red Devils and Frenchman Evra said champion Chelsea, a further point behind in third, was his club's biggest title rival despite its recent shaky form.
"For me, (Arsenal) is a football training center. I watch their match, I enjoy it, but are you going to win a title afterwards?" Evra said on French television channel Canal Plus.
"Our real enemy is Chelsea. They can win the title. We are more attentive to Chelsea's results than Arsenal's."
Since winning the FA Cup in 2005, Arsene Wenger's men have failed to win another trophy although they have played an attractive brand of football.
"I hear them being compared to Barcelona. Barca play beautiful football but they win," said Evra.
"In 20 years, people are not going to remember Arsenal's football. People remember trophies. We can lose against them on the 13th (tomorrow) but at the end of the day, there is nothing, no trophy, nothing.
"Arsenal is a big club that has not won anything in five years: that is a crisis."
It is not the first time Evra has mocked the Londoners. In 2009, the Frenchman described a Champions League tie as "11 men against 11 children" when United beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and knocked it out of Europe.
Bigger threat
Not everyone at United agrees with Evra, though, with Portugal winger Nani saying Arsenal poses a bigger threat than Chelsea, which has won just two of its last eight games in all competitions.
"Chelsea have lost a few games and drawn some and their confidence looks a bit low," British media quoted Nani as saying. "But Arsenal have been winning and being top of the league gives you great confidence."
Chelsea captain John Terry has questioned his team's desire and called on his teammates to end the bad run threatening to derail their title defense.
The champion makes the short trip across London to Tottenham Hotspur today in the first of three consecutive games against fellow title contenders needing to stop the rot.
"A couple of weeks ago we were seven points clear, 20 goals ahead of most teams and now we are trailing behind," Terry was quoted by newspapers yesterday as saying. "So we need to go on a good run and now would be the perfect time with Tottenham, Man United and Arsenal coming up. It would be ideal for us."
Defender Terry denied there was a crisis at the London club, which has picked up just five points from the last 18 in the league in a run that is worrying manager Carlo Ancelotti.
"When you go four or five years with that winning feeling, week after week and not suffering a blip like we have done in probably 11 years at the football club then it is obviously hard to take," Terry said.
The Londoners have a one-point lead over United but have played a game more than the Red Devils and Frenchman Evra said champion Chelsea, a further point behind in third, was his club's biggest title rival despite its recent shaky form.
"For me, (Arsenal) is a football training center. I watch their match, I enjoy it, but are you going to win a title afterwards?" Evra said on French television channel Canal Plus.
"Our real enemy is Chelsea. They can win the title. We are more attentive to Chelsea's results than Arsenal's."
Since winning the FA Cup in 2005, Arsene Wenger's men have failed to win another trophy although they have played an attractive brand of football.
"I hear them being compared to Barcelona. Barca play beautiful football but they win," said Evra.
"In 20 years, people are not going to remember Arsenal's football. People remember trophies. We can lose against them on the 13th (tomorrow) but at the end of the day, there is nothing, no trophy, nothing.
"Arsenal is a big club that has not won anything in five years: that is a crisis."
It is not the first time Evra has mocked the Londoners. In 2009, the Frenchman described a Champions League tie as "11 men against 11 children" when United beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and knocked it out of Europe.
Bigger threat
Not everyone at United agrees with Evra, though, with Portugal winger Nani saying Arsenal poses a bigger threat than Chelsea, which has won just two of its last eight games in all competitions.
"Chelsea have lost a few games and drawn some and their confidence looks a bit low," British media quoted Nani as saying. "But Arsenal have been winning and being top of the league gives you great confidence."
Chelsea captain John Terry has questioned his team's desire and called on his teammates to end the bad run threatening to derail their title defense.
The champion makes the short trip across London to Tottenham Hotspur today in the first of three consecutive games against fellow title contenders needing to stop the rot.
"A couple of weeks ago we were seven points clear, 20 goals ahead of most teams and now we are trailing behind," Terry was quoted by newspapers yesterday as saying. "So we need to go on a good run and now would be the perfect time with Tottenham, Man United and Arsenal coming up. It would be ideal for us."
Defender Terry denied there was a crisis at the London club, which has picked up just five points from the last 18 in the league in a run that is worrying manager Carlo Ancelotti.
"When you go four or five years with that winning feeling, week after week and not suffering a blip like we have done in probably 11 years at the football club then it is obviously hard to take," Terry said.
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