Alan Shearer Names Arsenal Hero As The Toughest Defender He’s Faced

By The Editor
on 16th August 2017

Alan Shearer waxes lyrical about Tony Adams…

Alan Shearer named Arsenal legend Tony Adams as the toughest defender he’s faced in the Premier League as the MOTD crew attempt to construct the greatest XI in the league’s 25-year era.

A panel of Alan Shearer, Danny Murphy, Ian Wright and Gary Lineker are looking to create the ultimate XI this league has seen since its inception in 1992, and the Newcastle United legend was adamant that Adams should make it.

Shearer stated that he usually judges the ability of a centre-back by how he fared against them, a metric only a few strikers in the Premier League era can use.

Given that he terrorised most defences, Shearer eliminated another Arsenal legend from the equation, stating that he enjoyed playing against Sol Campbell.

However, it was Adams who the Premier League’s record goalscorer couldn’t shackle off.

“I didn’t mind playing against Sol Campbell,” Shearer told the panel.

“I felt as though I could drag Sol where I wanted to.

“The best defender I’ve played against, and always say, was Tony Adams. His job was to defend and he was the best defender I played against.”

It didn’t seem like his colleagues agreed, with Lineker stating that the best defenders defended well but could also bring the ball out from the back.

Adams ended up missing out with John Terry getting in alongside Rio Ferdinand.