Wenger awaits Beckham arrival

Arsenal boss hopes players will learn from midfielder

Last updated: 28th December 2007

Wenger awaits Beckham arrival

Wenger: Impressed by Beckham

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Arsene Wenger believes his young players will be able to learn a lot from David Beckham.

The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder is set to use Arsenal's training complex to keep up his fitness levels during the Major League Soccer close season, and Wenger hopes the experience will be beneficial to his own players as well as Beckham.

"He will come in January to practise with us, occasionally with the first team or the reserves," the Gunners manager confirmed.

"He can always give good advice and we will help him to keep fit. The youngsters will look up to him, of course."

Wenger has been impressed by how Beckham has handled pressure throughout his career.

He said: "I respect the fact that he has always loved football and he has always shown respect for his managers even when he was dropped. He didn't come out in a silly way, a spoilt way.

"Also, he has always delivered when it was expected of him, he has shown toughness.

"When he had to score the free-kick in the last minute against Greece (in the crucial World Cup qualifier in October 2001) he put it in the net. It is a sign of mental strength."

Paradise

Wenger is renowned for blooding youngsters and he feels his players should consider themselves lucky to line up for the first team so early in their careers.

"You tell me one club in the world, of our size, that gives a chance to the young players as we do? There is not one," he said.

"You go to Real Madrid, you go to Milan, where do the young players play?

"So at our club young players are in paradise, because usually they have to wait to 26 or 27 to get a chance in a big club."

The likes of Lassana Diarra and Abou Diaby have struggled to establish themselves in the side and have been linked with moves away from Arsenal, but Wenger has urged his unsettled players to bide their time.

"I try to make everybody happy, but it is impossible," he said.

No Kindergarten

"We are not in a kindergarten here - we are in a job for men.

"Why should I come up and give explanations for every individual who is not happy? It is a joke.

"When you are a professional footballer, competition is part of your job.

"For me, players like Diarra are top, top level players. If you have a period for two or three months with the team doing well and you have a player doing well in front of you that is bad luck.

"But at the end of the day, it is a job for strong people and those who stay strong always come out."