Gareth Barry Reflects on Career Ahead of Setting EPL Appearance Record
Ahead of West Brom's trip to face Arsenal on Monday evening, in which Gareth Barry will become the all-time Premier League appearance record holder with 633 (as long as he features), the Hastings-born midfielder spoke about the best he's ever played with in his career.
Barry, who joined West Brom for £990k from Everton over the summer, also discussed who the toughest opponent he faced was during his career during an interview with Sky Sports.
Unsurprisingly, the former England international picked an old Manchester City teammate as the best player he's played with, also describing winning the Premier League title in 2012 as "the highlight of my career in terms of club football."
"If I were to have a list of my teammates it'd go on forever," Barry said when asked about the best footballer he ever played with. "The one I enjoyed playing with is David Silva at Manchester City.
"As a midfielder receiving the ball and getting your head up early, he would always be in space, a pass would be on and he would be in acres of space.
"He is a little magician, capable of producing magic out of nowhere."
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When the question turned to the toughest opponent Barry had faced throughout his career, the former Everton midfielder said how he struggled against a certain Liverpool legend.
"In terms of finding games difficult I'd say Steven Gerrard at his peak at Liverpool," Barry added. "He was impossible to stop. He would drive forward and be aggressive defensively - he had everything to go with his game.
"I always found it tough playing against Gerrard and he was obviously a great player."
Barry will overtake Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs as the all-time Premier League appearance holder should he feature in West Brom's trip to the Emirates.
Having already featured in five games for the Baggies this season, the 36-year-old looks set for the historic milestone in north London.
