English League Cup quarter-final/Liverpool v Arsenal: Rafael Benitez welcomes Arsenal's prodigious second string to Anfield tonight having renewed his attack on the English academy system, the shortcomings of which have prompted the Spaniard to follow Arsene Wenger's lead by attempting to recruit youngsters from abroad.
Arsenal travel with their League Cup squad featuring personnel lured from all points between from Sao Paulo to Auxerre complementing home products.
Benitez has not spent the kind of fees it took Arsenal to sign Abou Diaby or Denilson, who both moved from foreign clubs, or Theo Walcott, from Southampton, for an initial £5 million, rising to a maximum £12 million.
His dissatisfaction at the lack of local talent emerging from Liverpool's academy has prompted him to look further afield, though the fact he will select more senior players for this quarter-final is a reflection that his squad lacks the depth of Wenger's.
Even after the Argentinian Gabriel Paletta's arrival from Banfield in the summer and the recent signing of his compatriot Emiliano Insua - who arrives next month from Boca Juniors - Liverpool continue to play catch-up with the youthful Arsenal team which defeated Everton in the previous round having cost £30.95 million to assemble.
"It depends what you mean by Arsenal's 'youth policy'," said the Spaniard when asked if he admired their set-up. "If you mean spending a lot of money on top-class players, it isn't difficult for me if I have that money. We know there is a big difference with Arsenal, who can pay millions for Denilson and also spend big on Walcott and Diaby.
"We were monitoring those players, but we can't compete with the big money they spent on them, so we have to work twice as hard. I am really pleased with the work of the scouting department who are working really hard to sign quality international players without spending a lot.
"When Wenger talks about quality and not nationality, I agree with him because the most important thing is to be winning. And, for me, you need to improve the English academy system because it's not the best.
"I'm not talking just about us, but for English football. If you want to improve, you need to change because you can see that young players don't progress here."
Benitez's frustration stems from his perception of a lack of competitive football for youth sides in their leagues, and the apparent over-emphasis on education in the system. Though the Spaniard appreciates the need to incorporate a teaching element, he has suggested that, given the hours spent in the classroom rather than on the training pitch, the academies are effectively catering for failure.
He endorses Jose Mourinho's insistence that junior teams should play competitive games ideally in the Football League, something Benitez did as manager of Real Madrid's B side in finishing sixth and eighth in the Spanish Second Division.
"You can't just have young players playing 18 games in a year," said Benitez. "When I was in Spain, the youngsters came up against 30- or 35-year-olds. If you need to play against men, you must play against men. The academies are not working, and that's worrying. We are not training youngsters to be good lawyers or teachers, but good footballers."
Liverpool, under the academy director Steve Heighway, won the FA Youth Cup last season, but a set-up which developed Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher has not generated a first-team regular since Steven Gerrard. Benitez's predecessor, Gerard Houllier, was perturbed at the poor level of talent he judged to be emerging from an institution which costs £3 million a year to run.
Houllier looked to his native France by signing Anthony le Tallec, Carl Medjani and Florent Sinama-Pongolle. Benitez, predictably, has used his knowledge of the Spanish-speaking markets.
He tried to sign Fran Merida Perez from Barcelona, only for Arsenal to prove more tempting, with Liverpool now looking more to South America.
"Insua is 17 and he's already in Argentina's under-20 squad," Benitez said. "We aren't talking about a small country. It is Argentina, the world champions in that age group."
Venue: Anfield Kick-off: 7.45pm On TV: Sky Sports 1
