Wenger steers clear of Beckham link with Gunners

ARSENE WENGER moved last night to distance the club from speculation that Arsenal are attempting to lure David Beckham to Highbury in the wake of his dressing-room bust-up with Alex Ferguson.

Wenger has played down suggestions that the Gunners could try to sign Beckham when the transfer window reopens in the summer if relations between the England captain and his club manager deteriorate in the meantime.

Arsenal have steadfastly adopted a cautious strategy to the transfer market, with Sylvain Wiltord being their record signing at £11million. However, club sources were reported to have told the Evening Standard that, despite the financial impact of building a new stadium, they could still afford a £30 million fee for Beckham if he became available.

“There is nothing true about that,” an Arsenal spokesman told www.arsenal.com. “If we want to buy a player, we talk to the club first and ask if the player is available.” Manchester United would know first and they don’t know a thing about it, so there is nothing true about it. People are just trying to take advantage of a story which has come out of United.”

Beckham insisted last night he wants to draw a line under the Old Trafford ‘Scar Wars’ saga. “It has created a lot of publicity but as the manager said it is time to move on,” he told MUTV.

“You can’t be professional about your job if things are going on which you are not happy about. It is in the past now and we move on.”

Ironically, Beckham is not the only United star now sporting a scar above his eye.

Winger Ryan Giggs left Old Trafford on Wednesday night sporting a similar injury, although his cut was caused in a more conventional clash with an opposition player.

“Ryan got one last night but his is above the other eye so he is not copying me completely,” Beckham joked.

Meanwhile, Wenger is confident keeper David Seaman will recover from injury in time to face Ajax in the Champions League next week.

Seaman was forced off at half-time during the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with the Dutch side at Highbury due to a hip injury. He has now been ruled out of tomorrow’s Premiership game at Manchester City, meaning that Stuart Taylor, who replaced him on Tuesday night, will continue in goal.

However, as recent signing Guillaume Warmuz is ineligible for the Champions League, there was greater concern about next Wednesday’s return fixture in Amsterdam.

The Gunners yesterday took the precautionary step of ensuring that 18-year-old rookie keeper Craig Holloway was registered for the competition.