Graham Barrett has protested his innocence over the red card which has wrecked the start of his two-month loan spell with Albion.

The young Arsenal striker was sent-off towards the end of his debut at Portsmouth last Saturday after clashing with Pompey defender Matthew Taylor.

Former Albion boss Liam Brady, Barrett's mentor, revealed: "I spoke to Graham over the weekend. I haven't seen the incident on TV, but he told me it was a scuffle.

"The two lads were trying to get up off the deck and he was being wrestled down. He said he didn't throw any punches.

"It's entirely out of character for him. He hardly ever gets cautioned, never mind sent-off. He has never been sent off for Arsenal."

Brady, the Gunners' head of youth development, helped set up Barrett's temporary move to the Seagulls.

He was also responsible for taking the 20-year-old Dubliner to Highbury after watching him for the Republic of Ireland against West Ham star Joe Cole.

"I saw him play in a schoolboy international against England the year Joe Cole played," Brady said.

"He did well in the match and I followed it up. I was only a couple of months into the job. He was still playing for a schoolboy club side and we found he hadn't committed to sign for any English club.

"We got him here and he has done very well. He was in the youth team when he was a year younger than everybody else and he captained the side when they won the FA Youth Cup.

"He is a very dedicated lad, decent on the ball with good technical skill. He brings other people into the game and he is an intelligent boy, quite quick and sharp as well."

Barrett made his League debut for Arsenal as a substitute in a 3-0 win at Leicester in December 1999, but his progress was put on hold for 18 months by a bout of glandular fever.

"He was really flying, then he got glandular fever and lost form before we realised what it was," Brady said. "He came into training one day and his face was all swollen.

"He is back to himself now. He's grown and put muscle on and he will be able to handle League football, no problem."

Barrett will not be available again for Albion until the home game against Grimsby on September 28.

His inclusion in the Republic of Ireland under 21's for Saturday's European Championship qualifier in Russia rules him out of the match at Millwall.

Arsenal will not let him play in next Wednesday's Worthington Cup tie against Exeter at Withdean, then Barrett's three-match ban for his red card comes into force.

Brady is convinced Albion fans will like what they see once Barrett is playing in tandem with Bobby Zamora and Paul Kitson.

"It's a club that has turned the corner thanks to the tremendous work and efforts of Dick Knight and the team of people he has working with him," Brady said.

"They are obviously going to find life hard in Division One, but that is not to say they cannot have a decent season.

"Graham wanted to play in Division One and I wanted him to, so it all fitted in nicely.

"I think he will do well, particularly when Zamora and Kitson are fit to play with him. He can play anywhere along the front line, but his best position would be just behind Zamora."

Former Albion defender Ross Johnson, a team-mate of Barrett's last season, also believes the Seagulls have made a shrewd signing.

They played together for Second Division Colchester. Barrett bagged four goals in 20 League appearances with the Layer Road outfit before his loan spell was ended by a knee injury.

Johnson, currently on a three-month contract with Dagenham and Redbridge following a brief stint in Finland with HJK Helsinki, said: "He is a very good player.

"He came in just before Christmas. We played him up front on his own or in a floating role behind the strikers.

"He has a lot of ability and he knows where the back of the net is as well. He is training day in and day out with quality players at Arsenal, so he won't have a problem in the First Division."