MANCHESTER UNITED veteran Paul Scholes has admitted he missed the game more than he ever imagined following his retirement last summer.

The 37-year-old stunned most observers by returning to the game this month, over half a year after announcing his decision to quit.

Manager Alex Ferguson jumped at the opportunity to get Scholes back into his squad, introducing the midfielder as a substitute during the FA Cup third-round win at Manchester City earlier this month. Scholes subsequently scored on his first start, against Bolton Wanderers the following weekend, and is expected to play some part in today’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Liverpool.

It is not a career path he expected last summer, when he opted to do some coaching alongside reserve-team boss Warren Joyce. However, his presence at United’s Carrington headquarters proved to be a constant reminder of what Scholes was missing.

Scholes said: “At the end of last season, I thought it was the right time to finish. But after coming in here for the last three or four months, still seeing people and doing a bit of training with the reserves, I was missing it more than I thought. I went to see the manager and said that I wanted to come back playing. I didn’t know what he would say. I didn’t know what his reaction would be. Thankfully, it was a positive one.”

Scholes, half-jokingly, denied his retirement, five months after that of long-time team-mate Gary Neville, was purely a ruse to get out of a lengthy pre-season tour to the US. “Part of it was,” he said. “I didn’t fancy going to America for three weeks, I know that. No, in all seriousness, I never thought I would miss it as much as I did.”

The goal against Bolton was the icing on the cake. After all, Scholes only scored once during the season before, when he was available for the entire campaign. “It was nice,” he said. “I hadn’t played for six months, so it was strange being on the pitch again. The first two or three days took a bit of getting used to. But I am back into it now and enjoying every day.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger insists he can cope with the Arsenal boo-boys as he focuses on taking his side through to a successful end to the season. Arsenal suffered a third straight Premier League defeat when they lost 2-1 at home to United last Sunday, during which Wenger’s decision to substitute livewire Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – who actually had a slight calf problem – for the ineffectual Andrei Arshavin was greeted with chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” from some sections of the Emirates Stadium.

The Arsenal manager is not about to take things personally as he prepares for tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Aston Villa. Asked about last week’s jeers, he said: “I can live with that. I do not think about the fans’ reaction, I think about how we can win our games. I will live forever by the values I think are right in football. One or two lost games, or one or two bad reactions will not change that.

“What was disappointing for me was that we produced a bad performance in the first half (against United), but a decent performance in the second half and should have won. We did not deserve to lose. The team did not get the credit it deserved for the performance in the second half.”

Wenger addressed the squad at Arsenal’s Hertfordshire training complex this week to reiterate his belief they can force their way back into the top four, despite now trailing Chelsea by five points. “The most important thing is that the player believes he is good and strong and that the manager believes in his players,” he said.

Wenger expects “complete focus” against Villa as they look to keep alive hopes of a first trophy since lifting the FA Cup in Cardiff in 2005. “If you look at Villa’s team sheet they are a very good side, they can produce good results, especially away from home, because they are dangerous on counterattacks,” said Wenger.

Wenger confirmed England midfielder Jack Wilshere had suffered “a little setback” in his recovery from an ankle injury. The 20-year-old was first troubled by the problem while on international duty last summer, and apart from a pre-season appearance in the Emirates Cup has not played a competitive match for the Gunners since.

Wilshere, who needed surgery after initially wearing a protective boot, will now have further tests and then a series of consultations with specialists before deciding how to proceed.

“Jack had a little setback, it is under investigation at the moment . . . He is seeing a specialist today.”