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The Ascendancy Of Anderson
Matt Monaghan casts a critical eye over Manchester United starlet Anderson, with half an eye on Arsenal's Francesc 'Cesc' Fabregas...
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Of the many positives that Sir Alex Ferguson could take from Manchester United’s crushing 4-0 victory over Arsenal in the F.A Cup this weekend, one of the most profound was the stellar performance of midfield dynamo Anderson.
Yet again the young Brazilian international dominated the midfield in a style befitting someone of a more considerable age than his 19 years, with his boundless energy proving to be a constant thorn in the side of an Arsenal midfield that was outfought dramatically throughout the game.
However, to those who have been following Anderson’s progress at Manchester United this season, this kind of performance came as no surprise. Indeed, it seemed incredibly reminiscent of the 2-2 draw between the sides at the Emirates Stadium in November, where United’s midfield domination led to Arsenal requiring an injury time equaliser from William Gallas to salvage a point.
In both of these fixtures Anderson has also been able outshine Cesc Fàbregas in a way that no other player in the Premiership has been able to do. In the Premiership game at the Emirates, Anderson clearly got under the skin of Fàbregas, with the Spaniard’s frustration leading to a rash challenge on his Brazilian rival, and a booking.
This Saturday’s F.A. Cup tie also saw one of the most ineffectual performances of Fàbregas’ career, where he contributed absolutely nothing to an utterly abysmal Arsenal, whilst at the same time Anderson was the shining light of an awe-inspiring Manchester United.
These kinds of performances have led to the question being asked as to whether Anderson is a better player than Cesc Fàbregas? Indeed, in certain departments the answer to this question would have to be a resounding ‘yes.’
One such aspect of the pair’s capabilities where Anderson has a clear advantage over his Spanish rival would be in terms of physicality.
Whilst the early stages of Fàbregas’ career saw doubts exist over his ability to handle the rough and tumble nature of the Premiership, with an example of this coming from ex team mate Ashley Cole’s autobiography when he stated that the Spaniard was "an unproven featherweight," no such comments have ever been aimed at Anderson.
The combination of Anderson’s power and tenacity was clear for all to see yet again on Saturday. An example of this came at the end of the first half, when Anderson was able to shield the ball from Kolo Touré, thus winding down the clock until the half time whistle.
There are hardly any players in the game today who are capable of repeatedly fending off the advances of a player as powerful and committed as Touré. Whilst Anderson was able to do this, it is highly improbable that Fàbregas has the capability to repeat such an act.
Furthermore, whilst Fàbregas is no slouch, the explosive pace and acceleration that Anderson is able to inject on the football pitch is another area where the Brazilian scores highly. A key component Anderson’s game is his ability to charge through the pitch, using his speed to escape from the battleground that is the central midfield area of Premiership matches. This ability was exhibited constantly against Arsenal, where his excellent control and dribbling skills in tight spaces allowed him to move away from Gilberto Silva and Fàbregas.
Another area where Anderson can also be seen to excel over Fàbregas is in the range of his passing, with the Brazilian capable of spreading passes over long distances with both incredible accuracy and vision. As both players are more than capable of passing at the speed and accuracy required of central midfielders over short distances, it is here that another part of the Brazilian’s game can be seen to excel Fàbregas’.
However, this is just half the story. Regardless of these superior aspects of Anderson’s play, when determining a player’s ability to decisively influence a game, Fàbregas still scores considerably higher.
This is shown clearly by the fact that whilst Anderson is yet to score for Manchester United, and has provided the assist for only a small number of the Red Devils goals this season, Fàbregas has so far managed to claim 12 assists and 7 goals in the Premiership alone.
If Anderson it to be considered a truly superior player to his Arsenal counterpart then he must begin to add the kind of final product to his game that Fàbregas has been able to show repeatedly so far this year, as it is in these areas where the true value of a player is determined.
However, it is important at this time to think of the Cesc Fàbregas of last season, as the one year age gap between the 19 year old Anderson and the 20 year old Spaniard provides an excellent barometer of achievement.
After all, Cesc himself was once castigated for failing to net. Indeed, it took him until the closing games of last season to score a Premiership goal in that particular campaign. What a difference a year makes.
This is certainly an area where fans of Anderson and Manchester United can take great heart, and point to potential achievements of the future.
Fans of Anderson cannot, however, point to a lack of assists in Fàbregas’ game last season, as he was able to claim 10 assists in the Premiership. Whilst Anderson does play a deeper role for Manchester United than Fàbregas does for Arsenal, the disparity in the assist charts between the two players remains large enough to provide significant fuel for supporters of Fàbregas over the claims of those who say Anderson is the finer player.
As such, it remains an incredibly hard task to judge who the superior player is between Anderson and Cesc Fabregas, with the only certainty being that the fans of both Arsenal and Manchester United should be eternally grateful that their teams can boast two of the most exciting talents in world football today.
Matt Monaghan casts a critical eye over Manchester United starlet Anderson, with half an eye on Arsenal's Francesc 'Cesc' Fabregas...
galleria zoom 
Of the many positives that Sir Alex Ferguson could take from Manchester United’s crushing 4-0 victory over Arsenal in the F.A Cup this weekend, one of the most profound was the stellar performance of midfield dynamo Anderson.
Yet again the young Brazilian international dominated the midfield in a style befitting someone of a more considerable age than his 19 years, with his boundless energy proving to be a constant thorn in the side of an Arsenal midfield that was outfought dramatically throughout the game.
However, to those who have been following Anderson’s progress at Manchester United this season, this kind of performance came as no surprise. Indeed, it seemed incredibly reminiscent of the 2-2 draw between the sides at the Emirates Stadium in November, where United’s midfield domination led to Arsenal requiring an injury time equaliser from William Gallas to salvage a point.
In both of these fixtures Anderson has also been able outshine Cesc Fàbregas in a way that no other player in the Premiership has been able to do. In the Premiership game at the Emirates, Anderson clearly got under the skin of Fàbregas, with the Spaniard’s frustration leading to a rash challenge on his Brazilian rival, and a booking.
This Saturday’s F.A. Cup tie also saw one of the most ineffectual performances of Fàbregas’ career, where he contributed absolutely nothing to an utterly abysmal Arsenal, whilst at the same time Anderson was the shining light of an awe-inspiring Manchester United.
These kinds of performances have led to the question being asked as to whether Anderson is a better player than Cesc Fàbregas? Indeed, in certain departments the answer to this question would have to be a resounding ‘yes.’
One such aspect of the pair’s capabilities where Anderson has a clear advantage over his Spanish rival would be in terms of physicality.
Whilst the early stages of Fàbregas’ career saw doubts exist over his ability to handle the rough and tumble nature of the Premiership, with an example of this coming from ex team mate Ashley Cole’s autobiography when he stated that the Spaniard was "an unproven featherweight," no such comments have ever been aimed at Anderson.
The combination of Anderson’s power and tenacity was clear for all to see yet again on Saturday. An example of this came at the end of the first half, when Anderson was able to shield the ball from Kolo Touré, thus winding down the clock until the half time whistle.
There are hardly any players in the game today who are capable of repeatedly fending off the advances of a player as powerful and committed as Touré. Whilst Anderson was able to do this, it is highly improbable that Fàbregas has the capability to repeat such an act.
Furthermore, whilst Fàbregas is no slouch, the explosive pace and acceleration that Anderson is able to inject on the football pitch is another area where the Brazilian scores highly. A key component Anderson’s game is his ability to charge through the pitch, using his speed to escape from the battleground that is the central midfield area of Premiership matches. This ability was exhibited constantly against Arsenal, where his excellent control and dribbling skills in tight spaces allowed him to move away from Gilberto Silva and Fàbregas.
Another area where Anderson can also be seen to excel over Fàbregas is in the range of his passing, with the Brazilian capable of spreading passes over long distances with both incredible accuracy and vision. As both players are more than capable of passing at the speed and accuracy required of central midfielders over short distances, it is here that another part of the Brazilian’s game can be seen to excel Fàbregas’.
However, this is just half the story. Regardless of these superior aspects of Anderson’s play, when determining a player’s ability to decisively influence a game, Fàbregas still scores considerably higher.
This is shown clearly by the fact that whilst Anderson is yet to score for Manchester United, and has provided the assist for only a small number of the Red Devils goals this season, Fàbregas has so far managed to claim 12 assists and 7 goals in the Premiership alone.
If Anderson it to be considered a truly superior player to his Arsenal counterpart then he must begin to add the kind of final product to his game that Fàbregas has been able to show repeatedly so far this year, as it is in these areas where the true value of a player is determined.
However, it is important at this time to think of the Cesc Fàbregas of last season, as the one year age gap between the 19 year old Anderson and the 20 year old Spaniard provides an excellent barometer of achievement.
After all, Cesc himself was once castigated for failing to net. Indeed, it took him until the closing games of last season to score a Premiership goal in that particular campaign. What a difference a year makes.
This is certainly an area where fans of Anderson and Manchester United can take great heart, and point to potential achievements of the future.
Fans of Anderson cannot, however, point to a lack of assists in Fàbregas’ game last season, as he was able to claim 10 assists in the Premiership. Whilst Anderson does play a deeper role for Manchester United than Fàbregas does for Arsenal, the disparity in the assist charts between the two players remains large enough to provide significant fuel for supporters of Fàbregas over the claims of those who say Anderson is the finer player.
As such, it remains an incredibly hard task to judge who the superior player is between Anderson and Cesc Fabregas, with the only certainty being that the fans of both Arsenal and Manchester United should be eternally grateful that their teams can boast two of the most exciting talents in world football today.
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