SOCCER UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS, SECOND LEGS:ALEX FERGUSON believes his team are just "one kick away from Rome" but the Manchester United manager is also determined that, if his team are to reach the Champions League final tonight, Wayne Rooney is not one misplaced kick away from tainting the achievement.
A yellow card would rule out Rooney and Ferguson said there would be “absolutely no excuses” if the forward’s notoriously short fuse meant he suffered the same fate as Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in 1999.
Rooney, along with Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez, will be walking a disciplinary tightrope at the Emirates and Ferguson said he hoped the Italian referee, Roberto Rossetti, would take that into account.
“I’ve noted a trend of the top referees understanding the significance of a player getting three bookings in the whole tournament and missing the final as a result,” he said. “The referees at this level are very professional and tolerant.”
Nonetheless Ferguson was asked whether he felt it necessary to speak to Rooney about the importance of keeping his composure. “I won’t be addressing it,” he said. “I don’t need to. He knows the circumstances. He’s a mature young man and he understands perfectly well. If a player steps out of line there can be no excuses and they all understand that; there would be absolutely no excuses.”
Ferguson, who is contemplating restoring Dimitar Berbatov to his starting line-up ahead of Tevez, spoke of his confidence that a goal for United would end Arsenal’s hopes of overturning the 1-0 deficit from the first leg at Old Trafford last Wednesday.
“If we score one that means Arsenal would need to score three and that would be a big advantage for us,” he said. “I still think it will be close but we’re at a good point. We’ve got a lead and we are just one kick away from Rome; that’s a big incentive for us. We have to go there with the intention of scoring. That’s the important thing – to have a threat.”
United’s hopes of coming through the match Ferguson described as the biggest in the club’s long and occasionally acrimonious history with Arsenal have been boosted by Rio Ferdinand being passed fit, having trained for the first time yesterday since suffering a rib injury in the first leg. Ferguson also reported that Evra would play, despite missing the practice session with an ankle injury that forced him off against Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger has already warned United to expect a “different Arsenal” and Ferguson believes it will be a more even game. “We expect Arsenal to attack more. We’ve had enough experience of playing them in the past to realise how they will play.
“There’s nothing I don’t know about Arsenal and nothing they don’t know about us.”
He will not be too alarmed, however, if Arsenal press more numbers into advanced positions. “Counter-attack is a big part of modern-day football,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wenger says he has never known a team face so much adversity over a single season as Arsenal have this time out, as he addressed the latest controversy to test his resolve.
Emmanuel Adebayor has been the target of fans’ frustrations following his lacklustre showing in the first leg at Old Trafford but, as Wenger prepared to start with the 16-goal striker in tonight’s Emirates stadium return, he threw a protective arm round him.
“I know and I can understand the criticism,” said the manager, “but I watched carefully that game [against United] and he put a lot of effort in, more than people think. He was really isolated, we didn’t give him enough support on the night.
“I believe that they [the fans] question his commitment since the summer because he was injured and he hadn’t scored as many goals. But look at his efficiency in the Champions League and it’s impressive. He has scored six goals in eight games [this season].”
Adebayor, who is expected to leave at the end of the season, had made noises last summer about a possible transfer, which was a portent of the turmoil to come for Arsenal. Having lost players before the season, most irritatingly Mathieu Flamini on a Bosman free to Milan, they have endured the William Gallas episode, which saw Wenger strip him of the captaincy, and suffered injuries and constant doubts, along with a bad start to the season.
Wenger has been bolstered by the striker Robin van Persie’s return from injury and the captain Cesc Fabregas stating that “my future belongs to Arsenal”.
Arsenal (0) v Manchester Utd (1)
venue:Emireates Stadium
Kickoff:Tonight, 7.45pm
On TV:RTE Two, UTV
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