Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri and Ayden Heaven following another strong night for the Gunners’ academy players in the first team.

Arsenal played their third pre-season fixture on Saturday night against Manchester United, having previously beaten Leyton Orient behind closed doors and drawn with Bournemouth in their opening two fixtures.

As in both of those games, there was a heavy youth presence in Mikel Arteta’s side on Saturday.

Centre-back Ayden Heaven and midfielder Ethan Nwaneri were named in the starting lineup, and Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Josh Nichols, and Myles Lewis Skelly came off the bench in the second half.

Things didn’t start in an ideal manner for Heaven, as he was caught out in a physical duel with Rasmus Hojlund as the striker scored United’s opening goal of the contest.

Yet the defender bounced back really well, showing a lot of confidence in his own ability despite the setback and ending the half very positively

“[Heaven’s reaction was] very impressive,” Arteta said afterwards. “At 17, I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this.

“He’s lost a duel against one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen. But the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him.”

As for Nwaneri, the midfielder helped to make sure his youth teammate’s error was quickly cancelled out, assisting Gabriel Jesus’ equaliser.

Nwaneri was excellent throughout the first 45 minutes, and Arteta suggested he’s earning more minutes with his performances.

“It’s always in the hands of the players, so show what you can do,” Arteta said.

“Show that ambition, that determination, that quality and things will happen naturally. Tomorrow he’s going to train with us again and if he continues to play like that he’s going to play some minutes on Wednesday [against Liverpool] for sure.”