Further proof of the virtues of Wenger's ethos

Arsene Wenger must again have been stifling an "I told you so" when facing journalists after Wednesday night's match.

Wenger has repeatedly been criticised by various sections of the media over his lack of spending and reliance on untried youth players. This malaise has rubbed off on a small section - emphasis on small - of fans, with some attacking their manager's ethos during last years annual general meeting.

With a number of his prodigies putting in impressive performances in the 2-1 win over Liverpool, Wenger must have looked on like a proud parent seeing his children graduate from University with a distinction.

Fran Merida, long predicted to be a star, put in another impressive display scoring one and helping to set up the other. The Spaniard has recently come back from the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt where he was Spain's best player, scoring three goals in three games, before being knocked out of the competition.

Aaron Ramsey added to his burgeoining reputation showing Fabregas-esque vision and range of passing. With Fabio Capello, the England manager, watching on from the stands, Kieran Gibbs also impressed at left-back. Capello must also have noted down the name of Craig Eastmond, making his debut in the defensive midfield role, as one for the future.

Another criticism of Wenger has been his recruitment from abroad which has, according to some, stifled the development of young English players. Gibbs, Eastmond, Gilbert all started, as did Welshman Aaron Ramsey, while Sanchez Watt and Mark Randall, both English, came on. Kyle Bartley and Emmanuel Frimpong made it eight British players in the Arsenal squad. Liverpool by contrast had three in their squad, with only Jay Spearing starting.

There arguably would have been more homegrown players had Jack Wilshere been fit and had Samir Nasri and Eduardo not have been needing minutes following injury lay-offs.

With many of the FA Youth Cup winning team also eligible to play for England there is an exciting and English look to the future of Arsenal, but fortunately for fans of football there will also be foreign stars such as Fran Merida who will be lighting up the Premier League for years to come.