Unai Emery Praises Teenage Arsenal Star After Gunners Cruise Past Qarabag in Europa League

​Arsenal manager Unai Emery was full of praise for the performance of teenage prodigy Bukayo Saka after he excelled in the 1-0 win over Qarabag in the Europa League.

The 17-year-old was making his full debut having previously made two appearances as a substitute earlier on in the competition, and he came agonisingly close to becoming the Gunners youngest ever European scorer.

FBL-EUR-C3-ARSENAL-QARABAG

The north London giants are no strangers to giving their youth players first team opportunities, with former boss Arsene Wenger and Emery both keen to show off the talent graduating from their academy.

In his post-match press conference after the game, Emery was quick to single out the youngster's starring contribution.

"Every young player, we have the responsibility to give them chances, first to train with us and to be demanding with their performances," Emery began, as quoted by ​Arsenal's official website.

"We give them these chances in the games like today, when we can do that. They show us in every match positive things. Today Saka also played with a good performance, with a very big personality and we were speaking at half-time. 

Arsenal v Qarabag FK - UEFA Europa League - Group E

"They were trying… his personality is very important for us to continue trying to go 1v1 and break lines with his quality. He played with a very big personality and sometimes with a very good performance."

As well as seeing a welcomed return to action for experienced defender Laurent Koscielny, Saka was one of several youngsters to be given a run out on Thursday, with the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah impressing throughout.

Emery added: "Three weeks ago we played in Kiev and it was the same with Emile and Willock, who scored there. Nketiah played today also and gave a good performance. We need one process with them, but in this process, they also need to show us their [development]."

The Gunners will return to Premier League action on Sunday, hoping to extend their unbeaten run when they travel to struggling Southampton.


Source : 90min