Rio says Sir Alex called Arsenal 'babies' and recalls 'most iconic team talk' at Liverpool

Rio Ferdinand says Sir Alex Ferguson called Arsenal 'babies' at the height of their rivalry with Manchester United and recalled the legendary manager's 'most iconic' team speech against Liverpool.

United have been involved in memorable battles with Arsenal during Ferguson's reign at the club, and Ferdinand - who played under the United boss for over a decade at Old Trafford - has explained how Fergie was used to to belittle Arsène Wenger's team before the matches.< /p>

MAILBOX: Eddie Howe has Newcastle exactly where they should be right now…

Ferdinand recalled: "Sir Alex Ferguson used to say, 'get in their face'. They don't like it, they can't live without it. They're babies.

"'Go against them and you will win this match. Rio, you will crush them, you will crush them.'"

During a chat with William Hill's Stripped podcast, Ferdinand later revealed that Ferguson's 'most iconic team chat' came before a clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

Ferdinand added: "The most iconic team speech Sir Alex ever gave was when we played against Liverpool at Anfield.

"He said, 'I don't need to talk to you, really. They're the worst Liverpool team I've ever seen on a team sheet.' That was it. We got won that day."

A second stalwart for United during this period, Paul Scholes, revealed to a third, Gary Neville, on The Overlap that his "most important" goal for the club was a "miskick".< /p>

Scholes was renowned for his long-range strikes and stood out for his spectacular volley against Aston Villa in 2006, before being quizzed on his goal against Barcelona that sealed the club's place in the League final champions 2008.

The midfielder came across a loose ball at Old Trafford, took a throw-in and then smashed it into the top corner to take them to the final in Moscow, where they beat Chelsea on penalties.

"It was a mistake," Scholes said. "It was a fake kick, it came off the outside of my foot.

"If you try to hit him that way with a bit of a fade, he should really come off the post and then into the corner.

"I thought I was just hitting the target to be honest with you. When it goes to the keeper and like that [swerving to right], you don't mean that, bad luck."

Neville then asked Scholes to at least admit it was his most important goal for the Red Devils.

"That was the most important, yes," admitted Scholes.