10:00am Monday 1st February 2010
By Marc Iles
HAVING chased Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas round the pitch in the last few weeks, Fabrice Muamba has no doubts as to who is the Premier League’s top midfielder.
While he accepts his former Arsenal team-mate Fabregas has proved more than a handful in their two meetings over the last fortnight, Wanderers’ midfielder stopper believes it is Gerrard who is the more complete player.
And his assessment perhaps makes his achievement in keeping the England international quiet for the 78 minutes he was on the pitch all the more impressive.
“It hasn’t been easy,” was Muamba’s under-stated appraisal of his last few games.
“They are two top players. Gerrard is probably the toughest opponent I have come across in the Premier League.
“He is the all-round player, who can defend or attack. You can’t switch off against him. People don’t realise just how quick he is until you have tried to catch him. But I did a good job, I think.
“I tried to keep him as quiet as possible, and if we would have scored, it would have been a while different story.”
Muamba’s functional style might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but his abilities as a man marker make him an important cog in Owen Coyle’s midfield at present.
With the likes of Chung-Yong Lee, Vladimir Weiss, Ricardo Gardner and potentially England Under-21 colleague Jack Wilshere buzzing around him in the middle of the park, there would appear to be a niche to be carved for a more traditional ball-winner.
And it’s a role Muamba is more than happy to fill.
“I do whatever I am asked to do for the team,” he said. “It’s not a one-person game.”
For all his efforts at Anfield, however, Muamba still ended up on the losing side for the third time in four games.
Results elsewhere in the Premier League ensured that Wanderers slipped only one place, and the 21-year-old knows exactly where his side need to sharpen up by the time they take to the pitch next weekend against Fulham at the Reebok.
“We played extremely well, didn’t take our chances, and that was the result,” he said.
“We had a better chance just before they scored, so that was a lesson learned for us, really.
“The boys gave everything, and it was our fourth game in 10 days. We knew this would be a difficult place to come but we have to move forward to a big game against Fulham now.”
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