United skipper Gary Neville gives his verdict on the
Champions League draw and looks ahead to Saturday's tea-time clash
with Arsenal...
Firstly Gary, what's your reaction to the Champions League draw
which has pitched United alongside CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and
Wolfsburg?
It's a tough draw. You always prefer to
get teams who are near to you in terms of distance so the
travelling aspect is something we'll have to deal with. We've had
draws like this before - we've been in the Champions League now for
the last 10 to 15 years and been to all kinds of places so we're
aware of what we'll have to deal with.
It must be pleasing to have avoided some of the bigger
names, but just how difficult is the travelling going to
be...
It will be difficult, but I also think the
teams we've drawn are good teams. Wolfsburg won the German league
last season, Moscow are a good side and it's always difficult to go
to Turkey. Any game away from home in the Champions League is
difficult - we've lost to teams over the years we wouldn't have
expected to lose to. So both things [the opposition and the
travelling] are something we'll have to deal with.
How much are you looking forward to Saturday's clash with
Arsenal - is it still a special fixture for the
players?
Yes it is. We've had some great games
against them over the years and last season especially. We're very
aware of their qualities - they've got a good history and
play good football like us. So they're always great games and it
should be another on Saturday.
Do you expect the Gunners to mount a stronger challenge for
the title this season?
It's too early to say at this
stage. We'll have to wait until we get to January/February time to
get an idea about which teams are going to be right up there.
Obviously, both ourselves and Arsenal will have aspirations about
trying to win the league.
The current form of both sides suggests it will be another
entertaining game...
I think that's always the case.
There's always been good football and goals whenever we've played
each other. There's been the odd 1-0 here and there, but generally
there have been a few goals with open, attacking football.
Looking back at last weekend's emphatic win at Wigan, how
pleasing was it to see Michael Owen fire his first
goal?
It's obviously important for everyone to score
goals and Michael's no different. He's made his move to the club
and scored a goal which is great, but the most important thing
about last Saturday was getting backing to winning ways after the
Burnley defeat.
How significant do you think the games between the top four
will be this season? They have varied in importance over the
years...
Yes, some seasons we've won those games and
lost the league and other times we've lost those matches and won
it. Last season for instance we lost twice to Liverpool, drew
against Arsenal at home, lost away at the Emirates and drew away at
Chelsea. So they didn't play too much importance last season. It's
about being consistent over the whole campaign, but
obviously if you can take points off your major rivals it can
only be good, especially when the games are later on in the season.
If the matches are early you have at least got time to recover, but
as we've seen winning them doesn't necessarily mean you're going to
win the league. Saying that, of course, we want a good result on
Saturday.