Arsene Wenger has laughed off a wave of speculation linking English champions Arsenal with a bid to bring David Beckham back from Real Madrid. Today’s newspapers were full of reports claiming Beckham had told his advisers to engineer a return to England with Arsenal said to be his favoured destination. Wenger, who has repeatedly insisted Arsenal could not afford the huge transfer fee Real would inevitably demand for Beckham, claimed the speculation had passed him by.“I didn’t read that but why not,” the Frenchman said with a smile. “He enjoys maybe the game we play and I rate him highly as a player but it ends there, unfortunately for the newspapers.”Wenger was speaking after watching his side display signs of a post-title hangover as they failed to break down a dogged Birmingham side at Highbury today. A 0-0 draw was nevertheless good enough to move Arsenal to within three matches of going through the entire season unbeaten and Wenger said he felt his side had cleared the highest hurdle left between them and that objective.“We were trying to play but I think we lacked a bit of edge,” the Gunners boss told Sky Sports. “The team has just won the title and reached their target and they lost a bit of sharpness so that is why you got the result you got, nil-nil.“You always want to be surprised, of course, but I accept it because it has happened every time we won the championship that you just miss a little bit in the game after.
