Denis Irwin appeared at the West Beach Bistro and Sports Lounge at the Movenpick Hotel in Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Residence area earlier this month and answered all questions Manchester United, Ireland and beyond at one of the venue’s popular Q&A sessions.

The Irishman was a Red Devils’ stalwart for 12 years, signing from Oldham for a paltry £650,000 (Dh 3.4m) in 1990.

He would go on to lift seven Premier League titles, three FA Cups as well as the 1999 Champions League.

Sir Alex Ferguson has described Irwin as his best ever signing and claimed he would be the first name on the team-sheet in any United best XI during his 26-year tenure.

Among the things Irwin, eighth on the list of most appearances for United (529), discussed with Sport360 reporter Matthew Jones was his best United XI that he ever played with:

Denis Irwin’s best United XI (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel

I think he was the best ‘keeper in the world when he played at United

Right-back: Gary Neville

Worked as hard as a dog, probably worked harder than anybody, and he was a more talented player than he got credit for

Centre-back: Jaap Stam

I would put Jaap in there as he was tailor-made for the Premier League. He was quick and his impact is summed up by how Sir Alex admitted it was a mistake to let him go

Centre-back: Gary Pallister

Pally was a really cultured centre-half, quick as anything

Left-back: Lee Sharpe

Sharpey was a talented boy and a great player

Midfielder: Bryan Robson

He and Keaney were very similar. They were both marauding, box-to-box midfielders in their time and as they got older they played as holding players. The two of them were as tough as anyone and you’d be delighted to have them in your dressing room. Robbo dragged United through the difficult period of the 1980’s

Midfielder: Paul Scholes

Scholesy is an obvious choice, just because of his talent. In the brain he was a millisecond quicker than everyone

Midfielder: Roy Keane

I was just delighted to be in the same dressing room as Keaney. He was hungry and desperate for success. The three midfielders I’ve gone for were probably the three best players I ever played with

Right wing: David Beckham

I’d like to have had Andrei (Kanchelskis) maybe, but I’d pick Beckham purely for his crosses

Left wing: Ryan Giggs

Giggsy helped me so much, even though I played 10 years behind him. He was a superb player

Striker: Eric Cantona

I’ve got a bit of a dilemma up front because I can’t decide between Eric or Ruud (Van Nistelrooy) but I’ll pick Eric because he was special, I’d have to put Eric in there. That’s a tough team there

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