Wenger proud of young guns
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed a ''complete display'' by his young Gunners after they demolished Sheffield United 6-0 in the Carling Cup.
He said: ''The team showed a good mixture of talent and a mature collective spirit to play football the way we want to play.
''The way the team remained focused and they looked a complete team. I am very proud of that.
''We looked strong in every individual position, and that takes a lot of hard work.''
Wenger added: ''We knew about Bendtner, but we discovered more about Vela. He is a clinical finisher.
''I integrated Wilshere into the first team sometimes last season when he was 15 and he did not look out of place and it is natural for him.
''I was not surprised because I see them every day, but you never know on a big stage how they play.
''They did that with the belief we want them to have and the spirit we want then to have.
''Now for us the biggest challenge is to keep them together and slowly integrate them into the first team. Some have done that already.
''When you are under immense pressure to buy in every transfer window, when you know that you have these players behind it would be killing the work we have done.''
Wenger maintained there was no reason why the young Gunners could not go all the way to Wembley, having reached the final in 2007 and lost in the semis last season.
''We want to win the trophy this season, whether Tottenham or anybody else comes along in the later rounds,'' he said.
''We can go all the way and win it. Why not?
''The only pressure you have is that when you go through the rounds towards the semi-finals, everybody says 'now you have to change all these players'.
''So what do you do? Let them play like they have tonight and then say, 'sorry, you do not play anymore'? For me, that is not serious.
''No matter how far we go, we have to stick to our policy. These players do not play like kids. They play with intelligence, talent and with spirit. They can beat many teams and I would not be scared to play any individual in the Premier League.''
The Gunners boss maintained he was proud of the way his men had responded this season, and hit back following a leaked confidential document from a recent team-briefing.
''We have nothing to hide. We are very proud of the qualities which were on that sheet,'' the French coach maintained.
''This meeting was done by me and only by me. It is a shame that you cannot trust anybody any more in the hotel, but on the other hand we have nothing to hide.
''Basically what came out of this meeting, which we have done many times, was that we want to be humble to play for each other.
''What I regret is when you leave a sheet of paper with 'confidential' written on it in a five-star hotel is that you find it in the newspapers the next day.
''That means you cannot trust anybody in the hotels, and you pay a lot of money [to go there].
''You cannot accept this type of behaviour because if you leave £20 in a room, you do not find it again as well - it is the same.''
Blades boss Kevin Blackwell admitted his side had little answer to the young Gunners.
''We knew they were a good set of lads, but nobody knew how good they were,'' he said.
''They were awesome at times and would have beaten most teams. A lot of people would like to know how Arsene can do it.
''He has gone around the world to pick out the best - but there are also four or five top-class English kids in there so that can only bode well for the future of the national team.''
The day had started so full of hope for the Blades, following the news an independent arbitration had ruled in the club's favour over the Carlos Tevez affair, which could eventually lead to some £30million in compensation.
Blackwell said: ''Life has a funny way of bringing you down to earth.
''I have not really had a chance to speak to the chairman about it, so I'm not really able to speak about it tonight.''
Arsenal's rampaging young Gunners will take some beating in the Carling Cup after thrashing Sheffield United 6-0.
