BY the end of this week, James McArthur will know Wembley just about well enough to conduct the stadium tour.

Last season he helped Wigan Athletic swat away Millwall in the FA Cup semi-finals and secure a thoroughly deserved victory against Manchester City in the final.

Now the midfielder, along with his team-mate for club and country Shaun Maloney, is back for another two high-profile appearances, against Manchester United in the Community Shield today and for Scotland against England on Wednesday.

The former Hamilton Academical player said: "I've had two victories there so far and I don't think you can get much better than that - well ... who knows ... maybe it could soon be four. I am looking forward to both matches if I'm selected. They are going to be very tough, but I like playing for the underdogs and trying and prove people wrong.

"We obviously have positive memories from the FA Cup final and I think Shaun and I can take positives from that going into the England match. We played well and a lot of credit goes to the old manager [Roberto Martinez]. His tactics on the day were superb."

Manning the trenches directly opposite McArthur in both matches will be the man who was his vote for last season's player of the year award, Michael Carrick.

He doesn't always get the credit he deserves, but he is positionally excellent and as precise a passer as you will see in the modern game. While McArthur and others managed to keep the ball against Croatia in June, both Wigan and Scotland will be doing well if they can prevent Carrick exerting an influence in the two matches

"I admire Carrick a lot," McArthur said. "He is a brilliant player. He was my vote for player of the year last year and that was with Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez among the choices. The job he does for Manchester United is second to none.

"He is often underrated, but got a lot of recognition last year. If you are playing in the Man United side every single match, that says something about your ability. He is never flustered in possession but he doesn't always just find the easy pass. He produces some great passes that not many people notice - getting players in behind, into holes between the defence and midfield.

"He is just one of many very good players England have so it's obviously going to be a tough game. We will need to do what we did against Croatia, but also try to keep the ball a bit better than we did. We have to try to make it hard for England and try to see if we can get a winner."

United and Wigan will both have new managers in charge, with David Moyes having taken over from Sir Alex Ferguson and Owen Coyle in turn replacing Martinez, Moyes' successor at Everton.

The Spaniard took star striker Arouna Kone with him to Goodison while James McClean has arrived on loan from Sunderland but to date Coyle's biggest job has been keeping hold of prize assets such as Maloney and James McCarthy in the wake of Wigan's relegation from the Premier League.

"Owen is a brilliant manager and I think he was the right manager to replace Roberto," McArthur said. "Obviously Roberto did an amazing job at Wigan, but now we have a new manager and we will be looking to bring more success to the club under him and to try to get promoted. We want to keep everyone, but no-one would grudge Shaun or James a move as they are brilliant players. They could play at the top and as a friend you would like to see them move, but from a selfish point of view you would want them to stay."

McCarthy played a splendid role in the Republic of Ireland's 1-1 friendly draw with England at Wembley in May. "I spoke to him about the atmosphere and he said it was unreal, one of the best he has ever played in," McArthur said. "Obviously it was tough for them, but they got a positive result and hopefully we can do that as well."

Some might argue the rivalry between Scotland and England is not what it was but that is not how McArthur sees it.

The 25-year-old recalls being on a bus back from a boys' club match when Don Hutchison scored at Wembley in the European Championship play-off match in November 1999 - the last time the countries met - and was hardly in a mood to talk down what is at stake.

"I am not sure what it means to England, but we know it is a massive game for us, our nation and our fans," McArthur said. "It will be our biggest game for a number of years. For Scotland there is no rivalry like England for Scotland."

l James McCarthy was speaking at an event with Vauxhall, the Scotland team sponsor