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Arsene Wenger has said that, according to him, Michael Carrick should be the winner of the Player of the Year award ahead of Robin Van Persie, as the 63-year-old Frenchman calls for the ‘real players in the heart of the game to be rewarded.’ Wenger also believes that Carrick is an underrated player in England and he would fit in a team like Barcelona as he would be perfectly suited to their game.
“I would choose Carrick,” Wenger said. “He is a quality passer. He could play for Barcelona, he would be perfectly suited to their game. He has a good vision and is an intelligent player, and it is for what he has achieved in his whole career as well. It is this year or never for him, just because he is 31 and after, they go down.
“You have a few other choices. Robin stayed for a while without scoring and the PFA vote happened during that period so that could go against him. You had [Luis] Suárez but he has bitten into his reward. You have Gareth Bale. I think Carrick is an underrated player in England and sometimes not only should the goalscorer be rewarded but the real players at the heart of the game.”
Robin Van Persie has been the centre of discussion after Sunday’s game, as Arsenal will be hosting the Premier League champions Manchester United.
“We had a frank exchange of views, Robin is an honest guy,” Wenger said. “He had arrived at 29 and thought ‘Can we win the championship here or do I have more chances to win it somewhere else?’ There’s a kind of timescale, like for a woman who has no baby at 39. She starts to think, ‘I have not much time left now’.
“It is difficult when the player does not want to be here … you can force him to be here and know that at the end of the season, the club does not get anything, and know that he might not contribute as well. So you are twice a loser.”
Source: Guardian
