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The Matt Holland Column: Pires? Henry? No, Van the Man is our man for all season

The only positive thing I can say about yesterday is that at least the Bolton-Blackburn game was a good result for us. If we are going to stay in the Premiership, we have to start performing because the last two matches, Liverpool and Southampton, have not been good enough. At least after the thrashing by Liverpool we could acknowledge their skill but Southampton were not that much, if at all, better than us. Having said that I must admit that we did not deserve anything from the match. Lacklustre is the best way to describe us and with 11 games left, we can ill-afford such uninspired efforts.

Manchester United and Arsenal went some way to ensuring English representation in the quarter-finals of the Champions' League. What a pair of performances. Both teams were irresistible going forward but what really impressed me was the solidity and quality of Arsenal's defensive line. Considering they were hampered by injuries and were forced into playing players out of position, they proved exceptionally difficult to penetrate or break down. Igors Stepanovs and Sol Campbell dovetailed superbly in the centre of defence but benefited greatly from the two players in front of them, Patrick Vieria and Gilles Grimandi.

Despite Bayer Leverkusen having the greater percentage of possession, I still felt that the latter two dominated the all-important centre midfield. Both made countless tackles, two of which by Vieria allowed Arsenal to break forward and score, and they erected a wall in front of the team's defensive line. On the flanks Lee Dixon was as combative and dependable as usual and Lauren excelled at left-back, a position I don't think he had played in before. Another player who was forced into uncharted territory was Sylvain Wiltord, out wide on the right, but his commitment to tracking back and helping Dixon and then sprinting forward again to link with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp epitomised the desire and hunger of the whole team. They were desperate to win and it was fantastic to watch them do it in some style.

I cannot remember a more thrilling opening quarter to a match. The artisan was Vieria with the tackles and then the artistry came from Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Henry. Every time Arsenal broke I felt they were going to score; the four combined so fluently it resembled a training ground exercise of attack against defence – the reserves' defence.

United, irrepressible going forward, were less secure at the back and after watching the extended highlights I felt that it could have finished 9-4. However, if they both qualify, which they should, it will prove how strong and attractive the English Premier League is. Let's hope that one of them can go on and actually be the champions of Europe.

While the great and the good of the music and film industries have started their orgy of award presentations, professional footballers throughout the land have started preparing for their own in April. The forms for the Players' Player of the Year have been filled in and my choice was Ruud Van Nistlerooy, although I must confess that Henry and Pires were very close.

Van Nistelrooy's impact on the English game in two-thirds of a season has been immense. He has given United a spearhead they had lacked for a season or two, scored goals from all over and continued to work hard on the areas of his game that he and the coaching staff felt were below par. He is getting close to being the complete striker and like all forwards, he loves scoring goals. Roy Keane once told me that if Van Nistlerooy does not score in a game he is the most miserable, grumpy person in the dressing room. This does not mean he is not a team man, witness his movement and effort during a match, but it demonstrates that he sees his primary job is to score goals.

He is certainly highly rated by his fellow professionals at Ipswich. I have collected our players' voting forms and 16 of the first 18 had him as player of the year. We each have to select a team and it is interesting that none of our squad have picked the same 11.

Anyway, here is my selection and no doubt yours would be different: Shay Given (keeper), Steve Finnan (right-back), Wayne Bridge (left back), Rio Ferdinand and Sami Hyypia (centre-backs), Robert Pires (right midfield), Ryan Giggs ( left midfield), Roy Keane and Steven Gerrard (centre midfield), Ruud Van Nistlerooy and Thierry Henry (strikers).

Gerrard was also my young player of the year. The discussions at Ipswich about who to pick have gone on for days with some swaying more towards picking Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen up front as a package because they have forged such a profitable alliance for Chelsea.

My criteria was to select each position independently so I have less of a team and more the 11 individuals that have impressed me most in their respective positions. However you decide to choose it, I know you will end up having a heated discussion, we did at Portman Road.

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