04/05/2009 06:59, Report by Adam Bostock
Midfield will be at the centre of Sir Alex Ferguson's thinking as he prepares his tactics for Tuesday's decisive second leg in the Champions League semi-final.
The United boss was full of praise for Anderson, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher after their graft and craft in the middle of the park helped the Reds to initially dominate and ultimately beat Arsenal at Old Trafford.
All three were rewarded with a rest when the champions travelled to Middlesbrough on Saturday; they'll now be ready to return on Tuesday, possibly in place of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who started in central midfield at the Riverside.
"The midfield worked so hard against Arsenal in the first leg, we decided to rest the three of them," said Sir Alex after Saturday's match.
"We put Anderson on the bench because he’s not had as much football as Michael and Darren. But they’ve had a rest and they’ll be fresh for Tuesday if I decide to play them all."
Anderson is also being tipped to succeed Scholes in the long term. His impressed United manager said at Friday's press conference: "I think he is going to replace Paul Scholes, that’s my opinion. I think he’s an outstanding talent, he's got fantastic speed and strength."
The boss believes the Brazilian can get even better as he gets more big games under his belt - "He’s still only 21. In the second half (against Arsenal), he was starting to be too positive, so we brought Giggs into midfield to give us more experience."
Sir Alex also awaits Anderson's first United goal after 72 games but his press conference quip of “We’re all lighting candles for that!" suggests that's not a serious concern!
Midfield will be at the centre of Sir Alex Ferguson's thinking as he prepares his tactics for Tuesday's decisive second leg in the Champions League semi-final.
The United boss was full of praise for Anderson, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher after their graft and craft in the middle of the park helped the Reds to initially dominate and ultimately beat Arsenal at Old Trafford.
All three were rewarded with a rest when the champions travelled to Middlesbrough on Saturday; they'll now be ready to return on Tuesday, possibly in place of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who started in central midfield at the Riverside.
"The midfield worked so hard against Arsenal in the first leg, we decided to rest the three of them," said Sir Alex after Saturday's match.
"We put Anderson on the bench because he’s not had as much football as Michael and Darren. But they’ve had a rest and they’ll be fresh for Tuesday if I decide to play them all."
Anderson is also being tipped to succeed Scholes in the long term. His impressed United manager said at Friday's press conference: "I think he is going to replace Paul Scholes, that’s my opinion. I think he’s an outstanding talent, he's got fantastic speed and strength."
The boss believes the Brazilian can get even better as he gets more big games under his belt - "He’s still only 21. In the second half (against Arsenal), he was starting to be too positive, so we brought Giggs into midfield to give us more experience."
Sir Alex also awaits Anderson's first United goal after 72 games but his press conference quip of “We’re all lighting candles for that!" suggests that's not a serious concern!
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