World-class midfield players get their share of goals and that’s something I want to add to my game.
I played fly-half in rugby, so I could influence the game, and midfield in hockey too. So it is part of my sporting DNA to want to be in the game at all times, to affect what is going on. That’s down to genetics and being ginger, I reckon. We’re special specimens.
I was the classic midfield organiser who could also score goals.
I used to track back from midfield but I never saw myself as a defender. Dave Jones thought I could do the job and then Glenn Hoddle after that. He showed a lot of faith in me and told me, even back then, that I had the ability to play for England.
Mario Mandzukic works so hard for his team. He’s not only a No. 9 but also runs behind the defenders and drops into midfield.
Growing up I’ve been playing as an attacking midfielder, more central in the midfield. I wouldn’t say if I’m most comfortable there but that’s where I grew up playing.
I think that by playing centre midfield in the middle of the park, I’m doing something which comes naturally to me.
The guys who play in midfield and up front are the ones who decide games.
As a full back, your role is just as much in playing in midfield, getting forward and creating chances, as it is stopping them at the other end.
Arsenal wanted me to be a controller in the midfield, an Emmanuel Petit-type.
My favourite position is in the midfield. I think I can play to my strengths there. I can communicate with every player. I’m more in the game, because as a right-back you have to stay on one side and you’re not always in the game for 90 minutes. So I prefer the centre midfield position.
The manager might like it sometimes when I play up front because I can cause trouble for the defenders, but for me, my best position is defensive midfield, stopping the opposition, and then looking to impose myself on a game.
As a youngster as I was a centre-half, I liked being on the ball and coming out from the back. I took chances so I got put in midfield and then I was playing all over the pitch so adjusted wherever I needed to play.
If you win the midfield, you probably win the game. But that doesn’t mean the players in the midfield are the ones alone who determine that, because now we have strikers who drop into midfield and defenders who move up into the midfield. It is the area you must dominate.
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