United clash will hold no fears for Senderos

"It never bothered him one bit. In fact, he thrived on that. The bigger the challenge, the more Philippe liked it. There was not a weakness in his game, not one. At the end of each season we do an assessment of each player - heading ability, what they are like with their left foot and their right foot, how astute they are tactically. They are also assessed on their ball skills and their physical endurance.

"Philippe's certificate was exceptional. On the ball skills alone, he scored 382 - the maximum was 400. And that was from a central defender.

"He was a remarkable talent. I believe I can recognise talent after all my years working in football - and Philippe has that talent to become one of the best players in the world."

With the clash against United just a day away, the Swiss defender could be forgiven, as a 20-year-old with such limited experience, for being a touch tentative about the prospect of playing in front of a vibrant Millennium Stadium crowd and a worldwide television audience.

But he said: "To be involved in games like this, that is why you play football."

When told of Senderos's reaction, Lanza added: "That is Philippe. Not big-headed, not at all. Just very positive and he has no fear.

"He is a natural leader, a real captain. It is not easy to intimidate Philippe. And the more important the occasion, the better he responds. So if he does get chosen to play in the Final, he will not be nervous.

"You only have to see how he has played in some of the really high-profile matches for Arsenal this season.

"He was tremendous against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and he played really well against Didier Drogba of Chelsea."

Lanza was given a glimpse of the Senderos personality very early in his academy days at Servette.

"In the dressing room, on the field, Philippe was a leader, a powerful voice. But even I was surprised when the team were in the corridor waiting to go out for an important match.

"I was at the head of the team waiting to go out and suddenly there this voice encouraging the others. 'Come on boys! Let's win this game!'

"I looked round to see who it was, and it was Philippe. The youngest player was the one trying to inspire the others. But that is his nature.

"He was and still is a very humble boy. Every time we meet or speak he always thanks me for what I did for him. He is a credit to his parents."

Senderos has already showed his steely determination to succeed after being ruled out of almost Arsenal's entire campaign last season with a back injury and then a broken bone in his foot before returning this season and claiming a regular spot in the team.

He added: "It was frustrating but there was never any doubt in my mind that I would recover. My dream since I was just five years old was to play football and I always believed in it."

Those words came as no surprise to Lanza. "When he was 14, he was part of a Servette team that won every game that season - except one," he recalled.

"We were in a semi-final of a tournament and playing against Torino when Philippe broke his leg. We lost the game. And there were worries about how much Philippe's future would be affected.

"We should have known better. He was out for six months but he came back even stronger. That is the sort of character he has."