Arsenal academy chief Liam Brady admits they face a battle to keep their young players focused.
The 56-year-old insists the club is fighting a cultural battle with their British youngsters over their lifestyles.
Speaking in the latest issue of Four Four Two magazine, Brady said: "I think we're still fighting the battle of the culture here.
"The Italian boys or any other of the boys we bring over from abroad at a young age, we don't lose many of them because of lifestyle.
"They're here because they want to be footballers, they see it as being another 20 years in the game.
"A lot of the English kids, it's a battle to get them to see it like that - to get them to take their football as seriously. That's hard, that's a real challenge."