by Nia Griffiths

Arsene Wenger has hailed Jeff Reine-Adelaide’s performance during the Emirates Cup, describing him as ‘something special‘ and praising the young talent we have in our squad.

The midfielder impressed everyone with his approach to the match in terms of physicality against Wolfsburg, considering he’s only 17-years-old. The youngster showed huge skill and strength against highly developed players and it’s hard to believe we’ve only just signed him.

The Emirates Cup is now known for showcasing the best of Arsenal’s youth squad but very rarely do teenagers impress as much as Reine-Adelaide did.

After the match, in which the midfielder got his first assist for Theo Walcott’s goal in the 1-0 victory, Arsene Wenger heaped on the praise – and deservedly so.

“Rene-Adelaide is something special you know,” Wenger said. “He is a great talent and when he came on you could see that – 17 years old let’s not forget that. In fact I don’t remember how I played at 17 but I didn’t play like that!”

The boss went on to hail the other young guns’ performances, including Alex Iwobi, who scored his first senior goal against Lyon on Saturday.

“I like Alex Iwobi. Good attitude, efficient player,” Wenger continued. “Maybe not so flashy but he understands the game. He is very efficient and works for the team.

“Akpom had chances. Isaac Hayden can play too. It is good we have these types of games as we see our young players.

“It is exciting to work with these players,” he added. “You can imagine how they will look in two or three years for the club. That is always exciting.”

It says something when even Wenger appears genuinely pleasantly surprised by a player’s talent.