The Italian giants yesterday revealed the former England captain is set to join them in the new year, during the LA Galaxy's close season.

With MLS finishing on Sunday for those sides not through to the end-of-season play-offs - which include the Galaxy - Beckham appears to have opted for the San Siro in an attempt to keep his England career from stalling.

But Arena, who appeared bemused by the news of Beckham's impending departure, was not sure how it would benefit the west coast outfit.

"On the surface, it sounds like an odd proposition," Arena said in remarks reported by the Los Angeles Times.

"I don't see where that benefits MLS or the Galaxy. I don't know if there's anything true in the rumour.

"The first I heard about it was today (Wednesday)... but I would think [given] the position the Galaxy is in and [the fact that] we're rebuilding our team and trying to have a successful year, it would seem very odd to me if we were loaning out our top players at the start of the season.

"It would seem pretty odd to me to operate that way."

The MLS confirmed late yesterday discussions over a possible switch to Milan for Beckham had taken place, but insisted the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star would return to the US for the start of the 2009 MLS season in March.

"Discussions have taken place between AC Milan and the Los Angeles Galaxy regarding the possibility of a short-term loan agreement that would allow David Beckham to play for AC Milan during the MLS off-season," MLS commissioner Don Garber said.

"Those discussions are ongoing. David remains an LA Galaxy player and will be here for the start of the 2009 MLS season."