Wenger urges Diarra and co to follow
Beckham's lead
David Beckham was once a thorn in the side of Arsène Wenger but the
manager now sees him as a role model for Arsenal's young players.
Wenger has confirmed that Beckham, the Los Angeles Galaxy
midfielder, will work at Arsenal's London Colney training ground
next month "occasionally with the first team or the reserves" to
maintain his fitness now that the Major League Soccer season is
over.
They have usually been in opposite corners - one of Beckham's
finest moments came in his performance for Manchester United
against Arsenal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final, a game that United
won 2-1 en route to the Treble - but Wenger has the highest regard
for him. Yesterday it was clear that one of the virtues he felt
Beckham had always shown resonates with the times. "He has always
shown respect for his manager, even when he was dropped," said
Wenger. "He didn't come out in a silly way, in a spoilt way."
Wenger wants several of his Arsenal players, in particular Lassana
Diarra, to heed the example.
He struggled to conceal his exasperation with Diarra. Although he
appears ready to allow Jens Lehmann to leave for Borussia Dortmund
in search of regular first-team football to increase his chances of
starting for Germany in the European Championship next summer, he
will not be dictated to by Diarra.
The 22-year-old France international moved to Arsenal on August 31,
from Chelsea, but chose the morning of the Premier League meeting
with his former club two weeks ago to announce that he wanted a
transfer. The Carling Cup has not been enough for him; a mere four
Premier League starts have eaten away at his patience.
Wenger chose to remind Diarra, and any of the other young players
in his squad who believe that they should be making quicker
progress, that nowhere else in the game would they be afforded such
a platform. "You tell me one club in the world of our size who
gives a chance to the young players like we do," he said. "At our
club, young players are in paradise. Usually you have to wait until
26, 27 to get a chance at a big club. You go to Real Madrid, you go
to Milan, when do the young players play?"
Diarra, coveted by a host of clubs including Tottenham and Lyon, is
in the squad but Wenger wants him to digest a few home truths.
"When you sign a contract, nobody puts a gun to your head," he
said. "Nobody forced me to sign [my contract]. I am 58. I have
never said, once I'd signed a contract, 'Listen, I have a difficult
patch at the moment, I want to go'.
"I cannot understand that people are surprised that there is
competition at big clubs. If you change for another big club you
have the same competition again. I understand the frustrations of
players who don't play but at the end of the day I will do what is
best for the club. That is my first responsibility. We are not in a
kindergarten, we are in a job for men. It is a job for strong
people, and those who stay strong always come out. Diarra has the
talent to be at a big club - he belongs to a big club. He doesn't
play at the moment but if he continues to fight he will
play."
