Alan Shearer battled Roy Keane but says toughest opponent was Arsenal hero who left him with seven stitches and broken nose
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Alan Shearer has revealed who his toughest opponent was as a player.
The Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer battled with the likes of Manchester United legend Roy Keane as well as former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira during his career.
However, the former Newcastle striker has named another player as the most physical he came up against.
He even admitted one meeting left him with a broken nose and needing seven stitches.
Appearing on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer was asked what was the most physical battle he faced against an opponent.
The 54-year-old answered: “Tony Adams. I remember walking off Highbury once and had seven stitches in my lip, right up the middle and a broken nose. That was a decent battle, yeah.”
Co-host Gary Lineker then quipped: “Explains the looks,” as they both burst out laughing along with Micah Richards.
Shearer continued: “My nose is pretty straight now. Three times I had it broken.”
Former Arsenal and England captain Adams spent his entire career with the Gunners.
The centre-back retired in 2002 aged 35 after 19 years in the first-team in North London.
During that period, he made 630 appearances and scored 46 goals from defence.
He also won 12 trophies including four league titles and the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Shearer and Adams faced each other 21 times, with the forward scoring four times across those matches.
However, he never found the net against Adams at Highbury in 12 meetings at the stadium.
Despite their physical battles, though, the pair were international teammates.
They appeared alongside each other 36 times for England, including at Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup.
Shearer’s response may surprise a few people – except those who played with or watched Adams regularly – given his memorable altercation with Keane.
It was 2001, in a period of dominance for United who were tough to beat but Shearer got the last laugh there considering Keane got sent off.
“We were beating them at St. James’ and he wanted to take a quick throw-in and he’d been at me all game as he normally was. It was about three or four minutes before the end of the game. I can’t remember exactly what I said, I called him some sort of name.
“He got the red card and I remember having a little smile and thought: ‘I’ve done you [like] a kipper here. I can’t believe you’ve fallen into that little trap.'”
Both sparring partners, as well as Adams, are rightly in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
