Welcome back. A very, very quick Sunday round-up for you and I’ll begin with some words from Arsene Wenger on the man of the match in our win over Everton yesterday – Alex Iwobi.

The teenager marked his Premier League debut with an expertly-taken goal to put us two-nil up shortly before the interval and was hard-working and creative before being substituted in the second half. The boss told Arsenal Player:

He benefits from his talents, intelligence and attitude. He has been practising with the players since the start of the season and he has been growing in contact with these players and he is learning quickly from them.

Meanwhile, the player himself discussed his first goal as a professional, his understanding with Danny Welbeck and the mood in the Arsenal dressing room, saying:

It is not bad, I’m enjoying the moment. I’m just happy to help my team and that is a positive so we will take that into the next game. It is a dream playing with him (Welbeck). He gives me confidence, he is helping me out and gives me advice. It works, we are all confident in training. Even though we have had a difficult week, we are trying to put that aside and concentrate on the league.

And speaking of Welbeck, Arsene hailed the striker’s versatility, revealed that he gambled on his fitness by starting him at Goodison Park and explained why he thinks his team deserve praise. He said:

He can play on the flanks and through the middle, so I can play him with Giroud or [instead of] Giroud – that gives so many options. You cannot say you don’t miss a player of that stature for nine months. I believe [he can make a difference]. I had many hesitations to play him before the game because he is still not completely over his knee problem. We have to be cautious but I pushed it because I knew this was now or never [for the title bid]. I know this team has put in a lot of work since the start of the season, I know how much dedication this team has had over the last eight months and I want them to be rewarded. We have gone through a difficult period and it is a good test to see how a team survives after getting so much stick. When I see their response every day, this team deserves credit.

I’m afraid that’s where I’ll have to leave it for today because it’s late and I have sh*t to do. Besides, with the international break upon us, there’s plenty of time to talk Arsenal over the next fortnight or so before we next play.

See you next week.