The only way is Upson

MATTHEW UPSON was an Arsenal reserve when Birmingham City began their Premiership existence at Highbury in August 2002.

He returns there today as one of the most sought-after footballers in the Premiership.

Only last week speculation began circulating that the England defender was a target for Barcelona and Newcastle United. With that in mind, and Upson due to trigger a clause in his contract allowing an improvement in his personal terms just by turning out for his 60th Blues appearance at Highbury today, Birmingham City are intent on offering the pay rise that would keep him at the club.

The Blues are ready to off-load one expensive £2 million-plus signing on the cheap (in Jesper Gronkjaer) but Upson’s value has soared the other way.

Manager Steve Bruce said: “It’s not a concern when you see someone you paid a million quid for quoted as being worth six million. No, it’s not a concern at all. If you’ve got good players, they’re always linked with other clubs.

“He’s been excellent the last 18 months and he’s approaching 60 Premier League games which, when you consider he’d played only about 12 prior to coming here, is marvellous.”

As for the man himself, Upson takes on his former club believing the experience he gained at Highbury has made him the player he is.

Upson decided that he had to leave the Gunners to join Birmingham in the January 2003 transfer window to gain regular first team football. But he will never forget his formative years under Arsene Wenger, who signed him from Luton as an 18-year-old only three years after he had been told he was not good enough by Ipswich.

He said: “Joining Arsenal was a massive move for me. I could have gone to Newcastle at the same time as well, but went for Arsenal. They were looking for a young centre-half to come in as an apprentice to their back three of Martin Keown, Tony Adams and Steve Bould.

“I remember I drove down to Highbury and met my mum and dad there. I didn’t have an agent or anything at the time. We spent the day there and I met with Arsene Wenger and it was amazing for me to sign for such a massive club at such a young age.”

Upson admitted he was overawed when he first stepped out onto the training pitch with the Arsenal superstars, but also learnt from Adams and his team-mates.

“On my first day of pre-season I was in a group with Tony Adams, Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp and Emmanuel Petit and I had to pinch myself to make sure it was all real,” he recalled.

“But I learnt so much and all three centre-halves were fantastic for me to train and play with and really helped to bring me on as a player. I could not have wished for a better group to learn from.”

He started to make his mark at senior level and in 2001-2002 was a key member of the double-winning side before breaking his leg in the February of that season. He came back from that setback and enjoyed a successful loan spell at Reading before deciding that he had to move to enhance his career.

He said: “I left Arsenal with a potential which I never really fulfilled at that club. Partly due to the fact I had a couple of major injuries which halted my progress. But the fact is that it was such an exceptional team at the time and I couldn’t break into the starting 11. I needed to get out and play and show people I was good enough and could be relied upon.

“I could see Blues were heading in the right direction and I think my performances at Reading earned me the move to Birmingham.”

Upson acknowledges the help he has received from Birmingham manager Steve Bruce, who was himself a formidable centre-back at Manchester United.

He said: “I’d watched Steve play for Norwich, the team I followed as a kid, and now he was my boss and has been a big help as an ex-centre-half himself.

“We’ll always have a little discussion on a Monday or a Tuesday if we can see there’s a goal or any major point from the play in the weekend that needs to be addressed.

“We both know when the defence is at fault and when it’s not. There is no shying away from that. There is no hiding place. If there is a mistake, he knows what is required of us as defenders to deal with things.”

Upson knows that Birmingham face a formidable challenge at Highbury despite their recent stutter in form which has seen Chelsea take over top spot in the Barclays Premiership.

“They had this amazing run of results, 49 matches without defeat,” Upson added. “After they ended the winning streak, they hit a bit of a dip. But it’s not been massive and teams going there will still have a tough game but we need points for our cause.”

Team-mate Robbie Savage is in no doubt as to Upson’s importance to the team.

“If Birmingham can sign Matt on a contract it will be great,” Savage said. “He’s in the England squad, he’s an athlete, he’s strong and quick. And, as any good centre-half needs to be, he is brave.”

Upson’s long-term aims are getting into the Champions’ League with Blues and getting a regular place in the England team. For the present, the 25-year-old, Suffolk-born, Norfolk-bred stopper is merely happy to return to Highbury with his career very much in the ascendancy.

Birmingham’s trip to Arsenal is the live commentary game on Today FM’s Premiership Live show, from 2pm today.