RAFEL Benitez's comments in the wake of Liverpool's Carling Cup humiliation are undoubtedly bad news for clubs such as Saints.

Benitez told his board of directors they must be prepared to spend big on young players to have any chance of catching up with Arsene Wenger's 10-year squad-building programme.

Nine of Wenger's 16-man squad at Anfield on Tuesday - when Arsenal reached the semi-finals with a remarkable 6-3 win - were teenagers.

The average age of the outfield players, which included former Saints starlet Theo Walcott, was 20 years 11 months.

Arsenal even had 16 year-old England Schools star Henri Lansbury on the bench, who would have become the club's youngest-ever player had be come on.

Benitez sees the reality of how Wenger's academy and youth set-up has eclipsed Liverpool's.

Benitez said: "We are also looking for young players, but Arsene Wenger has been working on this for 10 years, we have been doing it for just a couple.

"But we need to keep trying our best in the market and work quickly if you have the money.

"And if you have money then you must work at bringing in the best young players".

He added: "I do not really like to talk now about who we want and who Arsenal have signed, that would be too easy.

"But they have two or three players that we were monitoring and we couldn't sign because we didn't have the money".

It is not known whether Walcott was one of those players, but certainly Liverpool would not have been able to agree a £12m deal with Rupert Lowe as the Gunners did this time 12 months ago.

Benitez, whose club ironically won the FA Youth Cup last season, beating Saints on penalties in the semi-final en route, added: "There is a lesson in this for the whole of our club.

"If you want to compete at top level you must spend a lot of money and not just on your first team, but on young players and reserves.

"My scouts are excellent, but sometimes we go too slow as a club to make signings we need, and when we do there is not a lot of money.

"These are deals we are doing because we want to build a strong squad of similar quality for the future, but without spending big money it is difficult".

As Saints are finding, the elite clubs will be quickly hovering as and when they produce gems through their academy.

In the past English football's biggest clubs have always been able to tempt players from Saints' first team to join them.

But the trend now seems to be that the elite are just as likely to be looking at who is in Saints' youth team as who is in their first team.

Having lost Walcott to Arsenal aged 16 and possibly Gareth Bale aged 17, Saints will be harder hit than most teams with regards to developing their own players only to see the top clubs snap them up before they have left their teenage years.

It's not just Arsenal and Liverpool who are searching for the best young players. Clubs such as Chelsea and Tottenham have also made no secret of the fact they are in the market for the most promising kids in English football.

And if they so happen to be with a lower division club, then money is little object.

Last year Chelsea raided Bristol Rovers, Stockport County and Gillingham to sign teenagers Scott Sinclair, Harry Worley and Ryan Bertrand.

All three fees were settled by tribunals, but the initial downpayments were all £200,000 or less - peanuts as far as the Londoners are concerned.

What do you think? Do Saints have any chance of ever holding onto their most promising youngsters given that the elite Premiership clubs are keener than ever to bolster their own youth ranks?