Aston Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell says coming through the Arsenal youth system made his career.

Sidwell honed his skills alongside the likes of David Bentley, Jerome Thomas and Jermaine Pennant at Arsenal's academy.

He told Villa's website: "The education I got there, and the people who look after you can't be beaten.

"You can leave there bitter that you don't make it or grateful for what you learned - when I moved to Reading that's how I chose to be.

"When I signed for Chelsea I went on holiday and Liam Brady rang my parents to say how pleased he was for me.

"I'd left Arsenal six year earlier, but it was just a little sign of how they look after people."