Gary Neville has crowned former Arsenal star Marc Overmars as the toughest player he faced in the Premier League, with Jamie Carragher selecting Thierry Henry.
The Premier League celebrated 30 years since its formation over the weekend, with Neville playing in the first 19 seasons of it for Manchester United. Carragher meanwhile spent 17 years in the top-flight with Liverpool, playing across the defence and eventually settling at centre-back.
The duo went up against some of the most iconic attackers in Premier League history, including Henry, Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie and Alan Shearer. And given the anniversary of the league's formation, the pair have been asked to reveal who were the toughest opponents they came up against.
Neville opted for Overmars, who spent three years at Arsenal from 1997 to 2000. The former United captain also highlighted David Ginola, who featured for Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton.
"Directly for all the battles against Arsenal over the years, I have to say Overmars. Those battles for four or five years was a massive problem," Neville told Monday Night Football following Liverpool's draw with Crystal Palace.
"Particularly at Old Trafford, massive pitch, Petit dropping in - we saw Petit last week at Crystal Palace, I said to him 'you kept dropping that ball, just drifting it over my head' and he'd just be darting inside.
"To be fair, I always fancied myself against most of them (wingers) really, but the top ones. I remember playing Figo in the Champions League, and you just though 'absolutely unbelievable'.
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"Ginola, not at Old Trafford but away from home when we played him at Tottenham or at Newcastle, cause me big problems. He scored a great goal for Newcastle against me, got me sent off at White Hart Lane, so he would be a big problem, just his physical stature and the fact he could go both ways."
Carragher meanwhile was adamant that his toughest opponent was Henry, who won two Premier League titles with Arsenal. The former England international highlighted the striker's "blistering pace" as his reasoning behind his selection.
"Henry by a mile. The two players we both mentioned, it's because they were that quick, you talk about ability and going tight with people and you can sometimes work that out, you've got to use your brain and experience," Carragher said.
"But when someone's got blistering pace and we weren’t blessed with pace, of course we weren't, so you've always got to be switched on that much. But sometimes it’s just out of your control, and for me Thierry Henry's the best player in the Premier League."
Carragher also discussed the difficulty of facing less heralded players such as Kevin Davies or Duncan Ferguson. He insisted that while those stars were more used as target men, they were an "absolute nightmare" to take on.
"The games I found difficult was against the likes of Kevin Davies or Bobby Zamora or Duncan Ferguson when they were direct and when you’re playing against a team you’re expected to beat. They just give you an absolute nightmare, you’re involved a lot more than you would be against United or Arsenal because they pass it round but that’s long-throws set-pieces," he said.
