Wenger praise for Scholes

ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger maintains Paul Scholes remains “one of the greatest footballers in England” – but is not a fan of the Manchester United midfielder’s “darker side”.

Scholes may be fast approaching 36, but the United veteran impressed in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea at Wembley and again during the opening match of the new Barclays Premier League season, setting up goals for Dimitar Berbatov and Ryan Giggs in a 3-0 win against Newcastle at Old Trafford.

However, Scholes has sometimes drawn controversy figure for his tough tackling.

Wenger said: “I believe Paul Scholes is still one of the greatest football players in England.

“His contribution to the success of Manchester United is absolutely huge. The regret I have personally is that he was not always the fairest player.

“There is a little bit of a darker side in him, that he sometimes did things which I did not like.”

Wenger, though, maintained: “Who would not have liked Paul Scholes in their team? He is an absolutely fantastic football player.’’