David Beckham was 'disappointed' when Romeo Beckham decided to support Arsenal instead of Man Utd

Arsenal fan Romeo Beckham was quick to mock his dad after the Gunners snatched all three points against Manchester United in January – but why does Romeo support Arsenal?

It doesn't make a great deal of sense when you look at his father's career.

David Beckham made over 350 appearances for United during a trophy-laden spell at Old Trafford, winning six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League, amongst other silverware.

He did train with Arsenal for a brief period in January 2013, when then-manager Arsene Wenger allowed him to improve his fitness after leaving MLS outfit LA Galaxy.

"He called me," Wenger said at the time. "He has asked to come here and to work on his fitness. He has not done anything for a long, long time. [It's] purely for fitness. There's no speculation about signing or anything."

But Beckham speaks passionately about his "immovable" support of Manchester United – the club he joined aged 14.

He often watches United from the stands, whether that be at Old Trafford or elsewhere.

And back in January, he was joined by son Romeo at the Emirates as goals from Eddie Nketiah [2] and Bukayo Saka sealed a crucial win over their rivals.

Image credit: Instagram/romeobeckham

After the full-time whistle, Romeo posted a picture of him celebrating Arsenal's win with the caption: "Sleep tight dad," a comment that earned an angry response of, "Whatever" from his dad.

Romeo, who recently joined Premier League outfit Brentford on a six-month loan deal, decided against supporting the Reds – instead opting for the colours of Arsenal. But why?

Speaking to Shortlist in 2012, David revealed that the influence of Mr Wenger played a big role in Romeo's decision.

"I tried to get Man United shirts on them early," he said. "Two of them are Man United fans and one of them's an Arsenal fan. I don't know how that happened, but my middle son, Romeo, is an Arsenal fan."

After thinking about the reasons for Romeo's decision, Beckham added: "Actually, I do know how it happened. I took him to an Arsenal game and Arsene Wenger treated him so well, gave him a shirt with his name on the back and his favourite number.

"I had that when I was a kid with Man United. I let them support whoever they want. They don't have to support the teams I played for."

Romeo wearing an Arsenal shirt as a kid. Image credit: Alamy

Back in 2012, ahead of AC Milan's Champions League clash against Arsenal, former Rossoneri player Beckham said he was gutted when he found out Romeo supported the Gunners.

"When I found out that my son, Romeo, supports Arsenal, I became disappointed," Beckham said via Digital Spy.

"I can't bring myself to support Arsenal, although I do respect the club."

Beckham also trained with Arsenal's North London rivals Spurs in January 2011. In fact, Harry Redknapp tried to bring the former United midfielder in on loan.

“It’s great to have him here," Redknapp said at the time. "We worked hard to get him here hoping that he could come and play.

“No one could have worked harder than Daniel Levy, the chairman. They grafted away trying to get a deal done where he could play for us. It’s a bit complicated, but you never know. We’ll see how it goes.

“They work on that side of it. I’ve got the easy part. I just identify people, say ‘I’d like to get David – I think he’d be good for us’. It’s up to them. They do the hard work and put the deals on.

“He’s a fit lad, he looks like he’s in great condition, looks like he looks after himself. He’s a model professional so that won’t be a problem. Whether it will be possible to do it, I’m not sure.”