Sorry Eric, Zlatan is the new King of Old Trafford
SPORTSMAIL RUNS THE RULE OVER TWO UNITED HEROES
IREGRET that Zlatan Ibrahimovic never joined Arsenal. He visited the club in 2000 as a teenager and such was his physique and frame my team- mates joked that the Swede was coming to take my place at centre back!
Even then you could see Ibrahimovic had such a big presence. Now that he is thriving at Manchester United, the comparisons with Eric Cantona are inevitable.
The two men share so many characteristics. There is very little between them in terms of technique. Cantona was possibly a cleaner striker of the ball — he hit through the ball like a knife — but Ibrahimovic is not far behind.
They have the same demeanour. Ibrahimovic standing with his chest puffed out is reminiscent of Cantona playing with his collar pulled up. They are not the sort of players you would want to wind up!
Ibrahimovic turned down a trial at Arsenal, saying he did not do auditions, and there was a similar arrogance with Cantona.
His infamous ‘when seagulls follow the trawler’ quote after his karate kick on a Crystal Palace fan is the most arrogant phrase ever spoken at a press conference.
Where Ibrahimovic has the edge is with his power.
I man- marked Cantona for England against France and for Everton when he was at Leeds.
Although Cantona was an intelligent player, I never felt he was going to run away from me. When I could lock on to him, I knew I could deal with him.
In a one-against- one situation Ibrahimovic has more. He is bigger, stronger and more powerful.
Cantona unlocked the door for United’s success in his five seasons at the club. He will always be considered The King, but Ibrahimovic is helping to rescue United’s reputation and make them great again.
He has come to these shores in his mid- 30s and immediately proved his doubters wrong. What surprised me was how he bullied Wes Morgan and Robert Huth in the Community Shield. They were like nightclub bouncers the way they kept everything out when Leicester won the title but Ibrahimovic just swatted them away.
Since then he has not taken a backwards step. He has put Wayne Rooney in the shade, elbowing the England captain out of the way and taking responsibility for scoring United’s goals.
His longevity is remarkable. Plenty of strikers are past their sell-by date at his age.
If you are playing at 35 and your body stays with you it is about mental desire — and Ibrahimovic still has it.
He is the new king of Old Trafford. If Ibrahimovic was 10 years younger we would be saying that United’s future success would be assured. Ibrahimovic is more of a stop-gap, but United will be hoping that he does not leave in the same way as Cantona.
The club should remember how Cantona announced his retirement out of the blue just before his 31st birthday 20 years ago this May and work incredibly hard to make sure Ibrahimovic remains with them next season.