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Fergie hits out at Wenger over Fletcher criticism

MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Sir Alex Ferguson believes Arsene Wenger "has let himself" down over comments the Arsenal manager has made about Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher.

Ferguson described Fletcher as one of the best players in the world on Wednesday after his commanding performance helped United squeeze past Manchester City into the League Cup final after a dramatic 3-1 semi-final second leg win at Old Trafford.

But while the United manager is clearly a huge fan of Fletcher, Wenger is most certainly not.

After losing 2-1 to United at Old Trafford earlier this season, Wenger - angered by Fletcher's fiesty tackling - claimed he was little more than a bully who played "anti-football".

Ferguson has taken exception to that opinion and has questioned whether Wenger even believes it himself.

"I think that's where Arsene lets himself down," Ferguson said. "Everyone knows that Darren Fletcher is not a dirty player, not a physical player, not built that way, but he can win the ball because his timing and energy to get to the ball is fantastic.

"You can't call that a fault. That's a great part of the game, being able to tackle properly and he does tackle properly.

"It's disappointing. I don't think Arsene really believes that."

United visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to face Wenger's side with the race for the Premier League title as tense as ever.

United are currently in second position with 50 points with Arsenal just a single point and place behind them. As a result, Ferguson knows he will need his big players to put in a performance and he is backing Fletcher to come out on top.

"He's competitive and there's not many players who run off the ball as well as him," he added.

"His movement, energy and commitment in every game is wonderful to see.

"There's not been many big games that he has not played in over the last couple of years and it had maybe taken a while for the fans and press to appreciate what the boy has.

"And there is little you can do about that because he is not stylish player by any means, he is ungainly and gangly but he is a fantastic player."

Ferguson has recently been employing a single striker in his formation, with Wayne Rooney being tasked to fill that position.

Before this season began, concerns were raised as to whether Rooney could play as an out and out forward but 21 goals so far this season, including five in the last two, has comprehensively answered that question.

And Ferguson is now backing the 24-year-old to continue to prove that he is one of the most influential players in European football.

"There are periods where players hit great form," Ferguson added "Wayne has hit that great form now. He wasn't playing as well as that a few months ago.

"His form has increased. I thought Wednesday was an indication of the improvement from Wayne. In the last few weeks he has come on great."