Arsenal legend Michael Thomas has responded to Piers Morgan’s bizarre recent rant against former Manchester United and England star David Beckham.
The celebrity Gunners fan recently tweeted his view that Beckham was hugely overrated and that he wouldn’t get into the 2003/04 Arsenal Invincibles team.
We’re not sure most people would agree with Morgan on this, as Beckham was a star player for Man Utd for many years, playing in some of Sir Alex Ferguson’s best teams, and later going on to play for European giants Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, former Arsenal midfielder Thomas admitted it could be difficult for Beckham to play in that great Arsenal side, though he still had nothing but praise for the former England captain.
“Beckham – what a player. Work ethic and natural talent all together,” Thomas said. “As for getting into the Invincibles’ starting team…I’m not sure, but he would 100% be a part of that squad.
“His career speaks for itself, playing for some of the best clubs around the world and winning always. A player doesn’t play for the clubs he has without having tremendous ability.”
Beckham has often seemed to have a good relationship with Arsenal, going to train with Arsene Wenger’s side a few times during his time in the MLS, in order to keep fit during their close-season.
We never got to see Beckham in an Arsenal shirt in an actual match, however, but one imagines someone like Thierry Henry would have loved to have that quality of service from Becks during their respective peak years.
Beckham’s former United team-mate Luke Chadwick recently spoke to CaughtOffside about Morgan’s comments as well, insisting that Beckham was actually up there with the likes of Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
“It’s quite a strange thing to say, that David Beckham wasn’t world class, in my opinion. Anyone who’s played alongside him, or against him, or anyone who’s watched him can’t really say Beckham wasn’t world class,” Chadwick said.
“He had great ability, incredible technique, and great work rate as well. He was such a hard worker in every game, and every day in training. He wasn’t just goals and assists, he had so much to his game.
“In my opinion he does rank up there with those three. I think it would be unfair to say Gerrard, Scholes or Lampard were that far ahead of him. I think out of the four of them Beckham had the best technique with the way he could strike the ball. He’s right up there with the best to play in the Premier League, and he did it at Real Madrid as well.”