Arsene Wenger hailed his current glut of young talent as
the best he has overseen in his time at Arsenal, and vowed to use
the same stars who dismantled Sheffield United for the remainder of
the Carling Cup.
The Frenchman fielded a youthful and largely inexperienced
Gunners side against The Blades on Tuesday evening, but watched on
in delight as his team – with an average age of just 19 – blew
their opponents away 6-0.
And Wenger wasted little time in heaping praise on his next
generation of players, stating that he believes their display goes
some way to vindicating his decision to not buy in a host of
established stars during the summer transfer window.
“This is the best crop of kids since I have been here. These
players don’t play like kids. They play with intelligence, talent
and with spirit,” said a beaming Wenger after his side’s
triumph.
“You are under immense pressure to buy in the transfer window,
but you know you have these players. We don’t want to kill the work
we have done.
“The biggest challenge is to keep them together and integrate
them into the first team.
“We want to win the trophy with this team. We can go all the
way.”
Nicklas Bendtner bagged a double and Carlos Vela netted a
hat-trick, but one player who Wenger singled out for special praise
was 16-year-old Jack Wilshere, who also got on the scoresheet.
“I don’t think he even shaves!” said Wenger. “I integrated him
at 15 and he didn’t look out of place – he was a natural.
“He is a quiet boy, he is very determined and focused. For the
rest, the talent is there. You have seen that.”