Ferguson's fears over Scholes and Giggs

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson feared he had made a major blunder by condemning himself to operate without Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes at Arsenal on Tuesday night. With precious points required in the battle to secure a hat-trick of Premier League titles, Ferguson opted to use his two most experienced outfield players at Middlesbrough on Saturday. The tactic worked a treat, with Giggs among the goalscorers at the Riverside. Yet Ferguson had nagging doubts over United's ability to come through their Champions League semi-final without the duo. In the end though, such concerns were dismissed amid a two-goal blitz that ended the tie as a contest after just 11 minutes. Stellar performances from Anderson, goalscorer Park Ji-Sung, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher, who must now cope with the personal agony of missing the final in Rome, ensured Scholes was not required, with Giggs only coming on in the latter stages once victory was assured. "On Saturday I thought I'd made a big mistake by leaving Giggs and Scholes too long," admitted Ferguson. "I felt we would miss their experience. But the players who did play were great. "To leave out Giggs, Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez is a measure of what the players achieved."