Beckham for Arsenal?

David Beckham could be on the way back to England. Arsenal, one of the few clubs he would be keen to play for in the Premiership, will consider making an offer for the England captain in the summer.

Arsene Wenger, having said that he would not discuss a bid before Beckham played at Highbury for Real Madrid last week, was prepared to consider a move in the aftermath of his team’s Champions League success. When the former Manchester United star applauded all four sides of Highbury at the end of that tie, he did so ‘because he was at home’, said Wenger. ‘Of course I would take him,’ explained the Arsenal manager, who has been criticized by fellow managers in the past week for not having enough English players in his team. ‘I don’t know what his intentions are. Ask me if I rate him and I say yes. Ask if he can play at Arsenal and I say yes, he has the qualities to do it. Have I been in for him? No. I don’t think about it now, I will address it at the end of the season. ‘I can give you 20 names of players who could become involved in Arsenal Football Club - exceptional players who would add something, and if we need it we’ll do it. He could be one of them.’

The ‘could be’ depends on many factors, not least Beckham’s acceptance of a pay cut and Madrid’s willingness to sell him at an affordable price. Beckham’s contract runs to the end of next season and he knows he would earn far less at Arsenal than the reported £157,000 a week he picks up in Spain. But Beckham’s wife, Victoria, is known to be keen on a return to England, and the couple own a lavish home in Hertfordshire, about 10 miles from Arsenal’s training ground. On the pitch, the right side of midfield has been a problem area for Arsenal this season, with Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and Aleksandr Hleb lacking consistency there. Cesc Fabregas has also been deployed in that position but Wenger sees the young Spaniard’s future in the centre of midfield. Pires’s contract is up in the summer and Wenger may be forced to look elsewhere if the Frenchman chooses to leave for a longer deal than the one-year option Wenger customarily offers over-30s.

If he did move for Beckham, it would go against his policy of not signing players in that age group. Wenger believes Arsenal are in much better shape financially than he expected ahead of their move to a new home at Ashburton Grove. They are on course for a Champions League windfall: as the only remaining English club, they take a bigger share of the television pool. Arsenal might feel that having the most marketable player in world football on their books, to coincide with the first season at their 60,000-seat new home, would appeal on a financial as well as a footballing, level.

Another move that appeals, at least to Steven Gerrard, is a Michael Owen return to Liverpool. Gerrard wants his former team-mate back at Anfield to help solve the club’s goalscoring crisis. ‘I’d love to see Michael Owen wear the red shirt again,’ said the Liverpool captain. ‘But that’s not my decision, it’s the manager’s. I’m going to be biased towards Michael, he’s one of my best friends. Of course I wanted him to come here in the summer [when he left Real Madrid and signed for Newcastle]. Michael scores goals, so who wouldn’t want him in the team?’ Owen joined Newcastle in August for a club record £16m after a frustrating season at Real.

While the club insist the deal would keep Owen at St James’ Park for four years, rumours persist on Tyneside about a possible get-out clause and the security of the marriage was called into question in the News of the World’s Sven-Goran Eriksson sting, in which the England manager was reported to have said Owen is not happy. With all of Liverpool’s four strikers struggling for goals, Gerrard said: ‘I think [we need] someone along the lines of Michael.’ A broken metatarsal has interrupted Owen’s season, but he could be back in action before the end of the month. Arsenal and Liverpool, who meet at Highbury today, will have to strengthen their squads if they are to challenge for the title next season.