ARSENAL v WEST BROM SUMMIT SPECIAL
Barry alps himself to Giggsy’s record... then plans to slope off Wenger: Aaron will be skipper
WHEN Gareth Barry runs out for the 633rd time in a Premier League match tomorrow night he will have reached the top of the mountain.
The midfielder will break Ryan Giggs’s appearances record, marking yet another milestone in a brilliant career that has taken him from Aston Villa to Manchester City, Everton and now West Brom.
There have been so many ups along the way — not least winning thehe Premier League and d FA Cup with City, and 53 caps for England.
But when Barry finally hangs up his boots, the 36-year-old d plans to go downhill…… and fast.
“Skiing will definitelytely be the No.1 thing for me to do once I’m retired,” he said.
“My mates are always going away at February or March time on a skiing trip, and I’m like, ‘Ooh, I wouldn’t mind doing that’.
“You can’t exactly ask the gaffer for a week off then.
“So I’m definitely looking forward to being able to go on a nice family holiday skiing, or away with my mates for a few In terms of goals and assists, at Aston Villawe won 4-2 against Bolton and I scored twice and got two assists. But at Manchester City, we beat Manchester United 1-0 when Vincent Kompany scored the header — that was a pressured game and in terms of a disciplined performance that was the one. days. Not that I’ve ever worried about it one little bit — the life I’ve got, the career I’ve got, I can’t have any complaints or worry about anything. “It’s a small sacrifice that I can’t ski until my career is over — but that’s definitely what I will do.” It isn’t just Barry himself who has had to make sacrifices along the way. When he celebrates his achievement with a “couple of pints” in the company of his mum an and dad, wife and children at the Emirates tomor tomorrow, they will all be asa much a part of theth toast as he is. “I try not to bring mym family into my public life too much,” Barry added. “But they deserve so much creditc for what I haveh achieved. “I am going home a lotlo of times focused on mym job, and being grumpy afterafte a bad result, or I’m not able to go into the garden and play with the kids before a game, little things like that.
Parents
“And as a kid myself... especially from the ages of 14 to 16 or 17, those are important years where you might go off and lose sight of what you want to do.
“There are other things your mates Against Southampton for Manchester City — I scored an own goal, slotted one in with my right foot. That was during a bad run of games. Although it was a great finish, to be fair. are doing, things you shouldn’t be doing, but my parents — while they didn’t keep me on a leash — gave me a good balance of what I should and shouldn’t be doing.
“I’m proud to have done what I’ve done for them, as much as for anyone else.”
The only time in his career when Barry did wonder if he’d made the right call was when he left Manchester City for Everton in 2014, having spent the previous season on loan at Goodison Park.
He said: “Initially, City were struggling after I left and part of me thought that if I’d stuck around I would have got games.
“But at the end of the season I asked myself, ‘Should I have stayed there and maybe won another trophy, been involved?’.
“And I thought, ‘No, you’ve done the right thing, you’ve enjoyed a great season, you’d have played more games for Everton’.
“So not for one minute did I regret not staying at City.”
Barry sets the new Premier League appearance record with only grateful reflections on his long journey to the top.
And when the football is done he’s thankful there will still be plenty more summits for him to scale. James Milner. He has that reputation as ‘Boring Milner’ but there’s a lot more to him than that. He looks after himself, gives himself every chance to perform and you can see that in the way he plays. Rarely is he going to let you down. He’s a funny b l oke, too, Fulham. It’s tiny. Bradford’s was small as well — there wasn’t even a toilet.
FAVOURITE
I’m not a huge one for swapping shirts but I’ve got Kaka’s shirtirt from when wee played Brazil, the No.10, I think. I was sad to see White Hart Lane (above) go, I always enjoyed going there. Villa Park is obviously a big ground for me, I played a lot of games there and enjoyed going back with other teams. AARON RAMSEY is being tipped to follow in the footsteps of Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry and become a future Arsenal captain.
The Welsh wizard is finally back to his best following a frustrating spell during which injuries blunted his form.
Despite being forced to miss the start of last season, Ramsey managed to end the campaign on a memorable note when he scored the winning goal in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea.
Ramsey has managed to carry that impressive form into the new campaign and stole the show against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has no doubt the Wales international has everything in his game to become a Premier League great.
When asked about him becoming a future captain, Wenger said: “Why not? At 26 you know your job in midfield. You know where to be at the right moment and how to anticipate.
“He has maturity, he has improved technically, and he is more conscious of the importance of his technical qualities. His game is clean and he has a huge physical power.”
Wenger has also challenged Theo Walcott to prove his worth for Arsenal.
Walcott has started only two Premier League games this season but, after scoring the winning goal in the Carabao Cup against Doncaster in midweek, he may start against West Brom tomorrow night, particularly with Danny Welbeck injured.
“Since the start of the season he has been focused and determined. He doesn’t talk a lot but he works very hard,” said the Arsenal boss. ”This is a big season for him with the World Cup coming up.”