Arsenal are not expected to offer Brooklyn Beckham a scholarship, reports said yesterday.

The 15-year-old, son of former England captain David Beckham, has been playing within the club’s Hale End academy set-up, and had his sights set on a two-year scholarship with the Gunners.

However, PA Sport yesterday said Arsenal will not be offering terms to Beckham, who plays right midfield.

Younger brothers Romeo, 12, and Cruz, 10, are also enrolled at Hale End.

Happy Zapata

Duvan Zapata wants more playing time at Napoli after scoring one of the goals in a 2-0 win over Sassuolo on Monday.

The Colombian replaced Gonzalo Higuain in attack and produced a five-star performance suggesting he is looking for a place in the team on a permanent basis in future.

“Duvan is very happy at Napoli,” the player’s agent Fernando Schena said.

“He’s trying to make the most of the opportunities that come his way. He wants to score again and give coach Rafa Benitez a headache in selecting the starting striker.

“He still has three years on his contract, it’s down to the club to make a decision.”

No artificial pitches, rules Football League

The Football League has an-nounced that its clubs have decided against the reintroduction of artificial pitches.

A vote by clubs on the matter in November resulted in a tie with a second vote at St George’s Park last week deciding not to pursue a move away from grass pitches any further.

The previous tied result came as a surprise after a majority of club chairmen had indicated in September they would be in favour of using plastic pitches.

Championship clubs have already ruled out introducing artificial surfaces in their league.

Deschamps slams Nasri’s attitude

France coach Didier Deschamps appears to have ruled out welcoming Samir Nasri back to the international fold, claiming his attitude is not good enough to warrant a recall.

Nasri has not played for Les Bleus since November 2013 and announced his international retirement in August after being overlooked for France’s World Cup squad.

“When I select players, I talk with them – I tell them what I expect of them and what I want on the field and off, of course,” Deschamps, 46, said.

“I had the opportunity each time to talk with him, to say what was wrong – he did not hear or did not listen. I was taking a quality player but he did not meet my expectations in sport.”

Lucarelli hits out at fellow pros

Parma captain Alessandro Lucarelli admits he is disappointed with the lack of support expressed by his colleagues elsewhere as the club continues to slide towards bankruptcy.

Defender Lucarelli, who has taken responsibility for maintaining morale in a squad of players who have not been paid since July, feels his fellow professionals around Italy have not done enough to back Parma.

“The only colleague who has called me is (Roma goalkeeper) Morgan De Sanctis,” he said.

“From a distance the others have expressed solidarity but the fact is that no one has got in touch except Morgan.

“People need to understand that what has happened to us, with Italian football in such a bad way, it could happen to anyone.”

Support for Schmidt

Bayer Leverkusen’s director of sport Rudi Voeller has given his full backing to coach Roger Schmidt despite having only won one game since the turn of the year.

On Sunday, Leverkusen were denied victory in the last minute at Augsburg when the hosts’ goalkeeper Marwin Hitz netted a dramatic goal but Voeller remains convinced that Schmidt is the right man to bring success to the club.

“We have total faith in the squad and also in the coach,” Voeller said.

“There are reasons why we appointed Schmidt, and that’s because we have a concept to reach our goals and play attractive football with this coach.”

Thiago is back

Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara started individual training with a football yesterday for the first time in four months as he works towards his comeback.

The Spaniard, who last trained on October 14, had to undergo further knee surgery that month after an injury setback.

“Getting used to the ball was what was on the programme today,” Bayern said.

“It is the next small step towards a comeback.”

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola last week sounded confident the player could be back in team training in a matter of weeks but did not give a specific date for his return.

The Spain international partially tore ligaments in his right knee, the one he initially tore in March, in an injury-plagued 2014.