Marc Overmars says that he was allowed to take more risks as an Arsenal player thanks to Ray Parlour’s “power and work rate”.
The former Netherlands winger played a vital part in the Gunners' double-winning season of 1997/98, forming a devastating front line with Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka - who scored a combined 58 goals in all competitions.
However, despite the team's creativity in attack, Overmars says that he would not have been as effective without his team-mates’ hard work.
"He delivered so much power and work rate so that I could be more risky up front because Ray was doing a lot of defensive work"
“In that period we were playing and feeling like we were unbeatable,” he told Arsenal Player. “It was the best period of my life as a footballer.
“We had Ray Parlour who did extremely well. He delivered so much power and work rate so that I could be more risky up front because Ray was doing a lot of defensive work, and that’s the same for Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira.
“They let me play a bit higher up which is why I could score more goals.
"In an English team, it doesn’t matter if it’s Arsenal, Chelsea or United, you have to get a base of the English players, like Ray. That’s my opinion, because then it’s good to have that connection with your supporters and the area around you.”
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