Arsene Wenger heaped praise onto Alex Iwobi after a sterling performance in the FA Cup against Sunderland.

The 19-year-old made his sixth appearance and second start of the season for the first team this season against the Black Cats and was really impressive. He fit into the team easily and appeared confident under pressure without being arrogant.

After the match, Wenger praised the forward’s performance.

“I liked the timing of his passes,” Wenger said.

“In the middle of the park that is a vital quality and that fact he plays forward and sees [things]. As a young boy he is not afraid to come on and that is not easy.”

Iwobi must be chuffed after the match. Although he had to get subbed off due in the second half to the intensity of the match compared to what he’s used to, he gave everything he had and I didn’t see one person on my Twitter timeline who didn’t appreciate his effort.

There’s been talk of a loan deal potentially being on the cards for the youngster and it’s likely that this was a chance for him to prove his potential to the boss. Whether this is because he wants to go out on loan or fight for a place in the first team remains to be seen but I’d say whatever point he was trying to prove, he succeeded.