RIISE: PLAYING WITH STEVIE IS AN HONOUR

Jimmy Rice 06 January 2007 John Arne Riise has paid a glowing tribute to Steven Gerrard as the skipper begins his quest to be the first Liverpool captain to lift the FA Cup twice.

Speaking ahead of the third round tie against Arsenal, the left-back admitted he gets a kick out of playing with Gerrard. And Riise insists he wasn't surprised when his teammate was awarded an MBE. "We weren't surprised because of what he's done for the club and because of what he stands for. Privately he is a top man too," he said. "He has done so much for football and I think the whole team thought he deserved it. We're all happy for him and I think he was honoured as well. It's a great thing in his life to get an MBE. "Before I came here I knew about him but then when you see him in training you see he's one of the top three or five players in the world. He is our best player and it's a boost to us all when we play with him. We'd all rather be playing with him than against him."