Gareth Barry admits surprise as he prepares to overtake Ryan Giggs' all-time Premier League appearance record
The Englishman will make his 633rd appearance if he plays against Arsenal on Monday
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Your support makes all the difference.When Ryan Giggs trotted off the field at Old Trafford for the 632nd and final time in the Premier League in 2014, it was unthinkable that that record would be broken a mere two and a half years later.
However, on Monday, at the Emirates against Arsenal, Gareth Barry will make his 633rd appearance in the top flight at his fourth club, West Bromwich Albion.
Barry’s first Premier League appearance came for his first club Aston Villa – where he made more than half of his appearances – as a second-half substitute in a 3-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday in May 1998.
He joined West Brom from Everton this summer and will get an extension to his initial one-year deal should he make a set number of appearances, but the midfielder admitted breaking the Premier League appearance record was never a goal.
He said: “I didn't think I'd get here. You make your debut and you're focused on different things. When I hit 500 you're thinking you're coming to the end of your career. I've been able to keep going.
“I've not set any targets and taken it a season at a time. It's a fantastic life I've been living - let's keep it going.”
“I want to go as long as possible. Any ex-players and all my family say ‘play as long as possible because there'll be plenty of time to sit back and do different things’.
“There's no better feeling than running out there with your team-mates trying to win a game. I'm going to miss that when I do finish so while I still can be involved I'm going to keep going and enjoying it. The desire is still there.
“When I think about my debut to hitting this number everything has gone so quickly in between. I'll be really proud and when I've finished I'll try to take in what's happened in between a bit more.”
Barry made 365 Premier League appearances for Villa in total before adding another 132 matches to that tally after his move to Manchester City. He featured a further 131 times for Everton and has so far played four games for West Brom after signing for around £800,000 in the summer.
However, the former England international – who won 53 caps for his country – insists the landmark will only be something he things about after the final whistle is blown against Arsenal on Monday night.
“It'll be a nice moment, it'll be in my head but I'll be put to the back of the mind because it's a tough game,” he said.
“That number will be an individual thing but football is a team game, no matter what you achieve if you don't get a positive result you're going to be dampened. Anything other than a positive result, there won't be a smile on my face.”
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