Flip Saunders, the new coach of the Wizards, is confident that he'll be able to work with star guard Gilbert Arenas.

"I think we'll do great together," Saunders told ESPN.com in his first public comments since agreeing to a four-year deal worth $18 million.

Saunders reached a verbal agreement with Washington more than a week ago.

"The thing about Gilbert is, no coach is ever going to have a problem with how much he loves the game," Saunders said. "He puts in an unbelievable amount of time working on his game. He's a competitor and he wants to be great.

"If you look at my teams, I've had a point guard-oriented offense pretty much everywhere I've been. Myself and my point guard, we're usually joined at the hip."