ARGENTINIAN ace Julio Arca last night said it was "a dream come true" to play for Sunderland against Manchester United at Old Trafford this afternoon.

The 19-year-old left-sided player, who became an instant hit with Wearside fans when he scored on his debut against West Ham United at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, is thrilled at the prospect of playing against the Premiership champions so early in his new career.

Arca, signed for £3.5m from Argentinos Juniors, does not yet speak much English and relies on fellow South American Emerson Thome to act as an interpreter.

Arca said: "I am very happy with the start I have made and I am very happy to be here.

"It has always been my ambition to play at Old Trafford against Manchester United. Everyone all over the world knows they are a top-quality side.

"It is like a dream come true for me to be playing against them. I am looking forward to it and I hope to show a lot of commitment."

Arca knows that playing on the Premiership stage could boost his chances of being promoted from under-21 level to the full Argentina squad.

He said: "Of course I would love to play for Argentina, but it could be a little too early at the moment to be thinking about that.

"I will need to play a lot more games."

Arca is not over-awed at the prospect of coming face-to face with the Manchester United stars, in particular England international David Beckham, in front of a packed Old Trafford crowd.

"I play in a slightly different position to Beckham and I don't really expect be confronting him.

"All I want to do is play well and help the team as much as possible."

Arca has been surprised by the speed of his elevation to the Sunderland first team after just one friendly match.

He said: "Coming to Sunderland has been a great move for me but I didn't expect to be involved so quickly.

"But I'm delighted to be here and I want to learn as quickly as possible the football here and also the language."

Thome, who speaks five languages, will be helping the young Argentinian to learn English, remembering his own difficult time at Sheffield Wednesday after a free transfer from Portugal.

The Brazilian central defender said: "He has already started to learn and next week he will be going to English lessons.

"In my opinion this is very important. When I was at Sheffield Wednesday I didn't have anyone to help me.

"It is quite difficult when you want to express yourself and people don't understand you.

"I still can't express my feelings in perfect words but I can talk to the lads and that's the important thing in football.

"Julio is an intelligent boy and I think he will learn quickly."

While Manchester United is one of the best-known clubs in the world Arca stressed that football enthusiasts in Argentina knew about other English clubs.

He said: "Realistically people outside Europe know more about the clubs who play in the Champions League - that's why people know about Manchester United.

"But fans who follow English football know how many good clubs there are here and I had heard of Sunderland before they became interested in me."

Arca was surprised by the pace of the game against West Ham.

He said: "I have never run so much in a game before. The football was very quick but I will get used to that.

Sunderland manager Peter Reid is confident Arca will get better as he settles into the side.

He said: "I think he did terrifically well in his first game against West Ham.

"I don't think he will have any fears about playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford - he's played in front of crowd of 60 and 70,000 in Argentina