Sir Alex Ferguson has declared it will be medals and
trophies that decide whether Arsenal's youngsters are better than
Manchester United's. The Premier League's top two go head-to-head
at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow with the country eager to see how
the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Eboue and Emmanuel Adebayor
measure up to Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. While
Rooney, and particularly Ronaldo, were the stand-out stars last
term, Fabregas is the one excelling this season. The 20-year-old
Barcelona graduate has already reached double figures in goals for
the campaign and appears to be improving by the week as Arsenal
continue their impressive start. But, as Ferguson has always
reinforced when asked to assess his own talented youngsters'
contribution, youth can bring mistakes.
It is only with maturity that authority and consistency can be
relied upon. And, for the Scot, it is only at the end of an
individual's career rather than the start, that their true talent
can be assessed. 'Time will tell over Fabregas because he is
young,' observed Ferguson. 'It is the same with my players. You
have Ronaldo, Rooney, Nani, Anderson and Carlos Tevez who all have
their future in front of them. 'In two or three years' time I want
to be saying, 'They are the best in the world'. At this moment in
time they are showing those signs. 'But it is very important to
look back at what they have won. Can they win a European
Championship? Are they playing in World Cup finals? These are the
periods you have to add up. 'It is what Johan Cruyff, Pele and
Maradona had to endure in terms of how highly they were
rated.
'That is the challenge for all these young players and they must
always be judged in that way.' Although he found another player of
potential at Barcelona in Spain Under-21 international Gerard
Pique, Ferguson is honest enough to admit Fabregas had escaped his
own radar.
However, having lured Ronaldo to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon
as a teenager and now done the same with Nani and Anderson,
Ferguson is clearly not averse to placing his faith in youth. As
with most things though, the Scot feels time must be spent
assessing each player's character. 'Judgements are made over a
period,' he said. 'There can be no knee-jerk reactions or quick
decisions. When you are spending money on a teenager you have to be
sure of certain things.
'Do they have the temperament to handle that fee? Is there more
development in the player because some do peak very early?'
Ferguson confirmed United were monitoring Nani's progress even when
Ronaldo was being signed in 2003 while, with Anderson, who
impressed for FC Porto in a pre-season encounter in Amsterdam
mainly memorable for the double dismissals of Rooney and Paul
Scholes, a risk had to be taken on the 19-year-old's recovery from
a broken leg.
'We did a lot of work on Nani and Ronaldo helped with background
information,' revealed Ferguson. 'In the case of Anderson, there
was a risk factor because we saw him in pre-season and then he
broke his leg. 'There was a decision to be made about whether we
should wait for the boy to come back when the whole world could be
after him or the fee could be higher, or to do it immediately. We
felt the risk was worth it.'