Arsenal boss Unai Emery has praised the performances of Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira in the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.
The Gunners were soundly beaten at the Etihad thanks to a hat-trick from Sergio Aguero, and Emery admits his side were comfortably inferior on the day.
However, the Spaniard reserved special praise for his two central midfielders, who showed plenty of promise.
“They [Man City] showed their superiority at the end of the match,” he said.
“I’m very happy with Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira’s performances today, but they also need time to improve and to take confidence, to take experience for their future here.
“With the result, it’s not easy to say that, but there are some positives that we can look at from our players today.”
Guendouzi, 19, and Torreira, 22, were both signed during the summer transfer window after the appointment of Emery.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville also highlighted the performance of Guendouzi and suggested the Arsenal boss should build his team around the 19-year-old sensation.
He said: “[Emery] is finding out a lot about his players all the time. For instance, Guendouzi I thought was fantastic.
“Nineteen years of age that was a really good performance and he can build around things like that.”
Both Guendouzi and Torreira have been a big hit at the Emirates and, despite their obvious disappointment, Arsenal fans on Twitter also raved about them yesterday.