Mikael Silvestre feels he has rediscovered his youth since his surprise move from Manchester United to Arsenal.

The former France defender quit United after nine successful years at Old Trafford to join the Gunners for an undisclosed fee last August.

Although both clubs adopt a similar attacking philosophy on the pitch, Silvestre claims the pair are worlds apart in other respects.

And the 31-year-old admits hanging around with Arsene Wenger’s youngsters is starting to rub off on him.

“In playing terms, they are replicas of each other as they put the onus on going forward but after that, they have two different principles,” said Silvestre, who could start against his former employers in tomorrow’s Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford.

“At United, the squad is built in little stages but always around their pillars, (Paul) Scholes, (Ryan) Giggs and (Gary) Neville. They are the club’s identity, their points of reference on the pitch and in the changing room.

“At Arsenal, it functions more by generations. There has been that of (Patrick) Vieira, (Robert) Pires, (Thierry) Henry. Now it is that of (Cesc) Fabregas, (Theo) Walcott, (Alex) Song, (Aaron) Ramsey.

“We give responsibility to these youngsters very early and we let them grow together. At Arsenal, youth isn’t just an excuse.

“In the changing room, it is simple - to my left is (Jack) Wilshere, who is 16, and to my right is Ramsey, who is 18. We talk about things like the latest video games. It’s good - I feel young again.”

Silvestre is likely to recover from a minor back complaint picked up during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough in the Barclays League to start tomorrow, although he is in competition with Johan Djourou for a spot alongside Kolo Toure at centre-back.

He admits his return to Old Trafford will be emotional.

“It is going to be weird going into the visitors’ changing room, to see the supporters and all the people who work at the club again,” Silvestre told L’Equipe.

“It is going to be moving. Nine years at one club, it’s a long time, it is a part of my life. And it isn’t any old club, it is a legendary club.

“I could have stayed for my 10th year and had my testimonial. It surprised everyone (that he moved) but I wanted a new challenge.”

Silvestre remains the only player in history to move directly from United to Arsenal.

“Ferguson did me a favour, he had never done it before,” added the Frenchman.

Sir Alex Ferguson has urged Man United to go “full throttle” in their attempt to overcome FC Porto at Old Trafford.

Although the Portuguese outfit overcame United at the first knock-out stage in 2004, few are expecting a repeat, with Ferguson’s men odds-on favourites to reach their third successive semi-final.

But the Red Devils chief is taking nothing for granted. And even though his side are back in action barely 48 hours after the thrilling 3-2 win over Aston Villa, he is demanding that they hold nothing back.

“It would be stupid to think this is going to be easy,” said Ferguson.

“When teams are used to winning their domestic title, as Porto are in Portugal, you always feel they will play with great confidence.

“They have a lot of South Americans in their team as well, which gives them a great physical strength.

“By beating Atletico Madrid in the last round, Porto proved they will be hard to beat. Complacency does not come into it as far as we are concerned.

“We will be going at full throttle in order to get the result we want.”

United will be bolstered by the return of Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic and Paul Scholes from suspension, although not Rio Ferdinand, who is still troubled by a groin injury.

As well as that trio, Ferguson is likely to call on Park Ji-Sung, whose energy could be a useful weapon.

However, the majority of Ferguson’s starting line-up will be asked to follow up from Sunday, ensuring there was only time for a massage and a few loosening exercises in training on Monday morning.

Cristiano Ronaldo is certain to be a key figure, although he once again was forced to state how happy he is at Old Trafford amid fresh reports of a potential summer move to Real Madrid.

“We always have this question,” he grumbled, with Ferguson adding the continued speculation was “pathetic” before Ronaldo delivered his well-rehearsed response.

“I am happy at this club. I think it is the right club,” said Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is more interested in continuing the major role he played against Villa, when his two-goal haul took his seasonal tally to 20.

United are now a point ahead of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand and the Portuguese confidently stated: “We are the best team in England.

“We have shown that by being top of the table. That speaks for itself.

“We respect all our opponents but if we carry on winning, we will win the title again.”

Indeed, United are still on track to record an unprecedented quintuple, with Ronaldo not quite being as dismissive about the project as Ferguson.

“We have a chance to win everything this season,” said Ronaldo.

“First we have to beat FC Porto. After that, we must carry on.”

Sir Alex Ferguson believes last week’s home humbling by Liverpool has delivered a timely wake-up call to his players.

The 4-1 win was Liverpool’s best result at Old Trafford since the 1930s and Ferguson said it was a reminder for the league leaders not to get carried away.Ferguson, whose side travel to Fulham tomorrow looking to re-establish their credentials as firm title favourites, said: “For weeks we have had to listen to eulogies and compliments about how great this side is, and I have kept deflecting that and saying how tough this league is.

“Everyone likes to read good things about themselves, particularly young players like to think they are the bees’ knees all the time, but football’s a game that comes back and bites you quite severely as we found out last week.

“That defeat was a reminder about how difficult this league is and in a way that will help us.

“We all now realise that there is a lot of work to be done. It’s put us in a position to say let’s get the show on the road again.”

Ferguson said his players had brought the Liverpool defeat on themselves to a large extent, and that was an issue they had focused on in training since.

He added: “It’s hard to defend a 4-1 defeat and we have to be absolutely clear in our mind about the reasons why it happened, and we are clear about it.

“I think it was self-inflicted and it came from mistakes we don’t expect our players to make.

“You get situations like this in the run-in and the good thing is that I am used to it and quite a few of my players are used to it.”

Roy Hodgson’s Fulham lie in store tomorrow, but should provide few fears for United who have already defeated them 3-0 and 4-0 this season. Ferguson however believes that the Cottagers have shown enough resilience this season to be taken very seriously.

He added: “They have had a great league campaign this season and Roy’s done a fantastic job in the sense that with five games left last season they looked down.

“His experience and qualities has created a different Fulham and we expect a difficult game tomorrow.”

Veteran defender Gary Neville is back in the squad after recovering from a groin strain. Darren Fletcher, who missed the defeat by Liverpool due to a virus - he had been due to play in central midfield - is also in the squad.

Jonny Evans is likely to replace the suspended Nemanja Vidic alongside Rio Ferdinand in central defence.

Meanwhile, Ferguson has expressed his displeasure at the FA Cup semi-final against Everton taking place at Wembley, saying playing it there detracted from the mythical status of the stadium.

Ferguson said: “Some fantastic players in our country have never played at Wembley, and that’s going back through the ages, and to me it’s taking away from the glamour of getting to the final.

“But there’s no way out of it, we know the reasons and we just have to get on with it.”

The memories of 1998 will ensure Man United are not allowed to start thinking the Premier League title is in the bag.

Most pundits believe the championship will be heading back to Old Trafford this season, with bookmakers Paddy Power so certain they have already paid out on a United domestic treble.The move has been dismissed as ‘a gimmick’ by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, whose side entertain Blackburn on Saturday knowing victory will take them eight points clear of second-placed Liverpool.

And he recalls exactly the same plaudits being showered on his team 11 years ago, when they opened up a 12-point lead on Arsenal only to suffer a dismal slump in March when they managed only one draw in a three-game run that included a home defeat by their chief rivals.

That sequence put United on the back foot and they never recovered the initiative as the Gunners strode to their first title triumph under Arsene Wenger.

“People were saying it was a foregone conclusion in 1998,” recalled Ferguson.

“But when we got to the beginning of March, Ryan Giggs and Gary Pallister got injured, Peter Schmeichel was carrying one and Paul Scholes had to play with a broken toe.

“In attack, Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham had to play all the time during a certain period because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was injured.

“It told on the run-in because we couldn’t freshen the team up.”

The killer blow came when the Gunners came to Old Trafford and Ferguson had to rely on John Curtis and Ben Thornley in a game United eventually lost to a late Marc Overmars goal.

Along with the last-day heartbreak in 1995 when United laid siege to the West Ham goal at Upton Park but failed to get a winner to prevent Blackburn clinching the title, it is a day etched in Ferguson’s psyche.

However, he does concede the whole make-up of the Premier League has changed markedly in the intervening decade, making such comebacks - the like of which Chelsea need this term - substantially more difficult.

“It is a tough league now,” said Ferguson.

“There are so many teams fighting for survival for a start, which makes it a challenge all the time.

“It is a far better league now. There are far better players and the standard of football is much higher.”