Mikel Arteta spoke about maximising the minutes of academy players for Arsenal.
Andre Harriman-Annous and **Max Dowman**made their first starts for the senior side in a 2-0 victory over **Brighton**in the Carabao Cup. The Gunners were a little ropier than usual with a rotated eleven, but it was a night to remember for the pair. The team will do their best to keep feet on the ground from the young players, but they want to ensure the teenagers enjoy their opportunities.
“When we talk about players that are starting their careers because we've all been there. That's something that I discuss with the players.
“Make sure that when Andre Harriman-Annous thinks about this day, he knows the exact date, the team, the hour, who he played next to and what actually happened that day, because that's with you for the rest of your life and we are all responsible to make that day, that night very special for him.
“The other fact is that because you're playing in a cup, you are in or you are out. If we want to win every trophy and want to be there, we have to be ruthless in every competition. In order to achieve that, we are going to need every player and in order to do that, you have to be at your best.
“We have a lot of players that play very few minutes, but on minute three, Kepa made that save because every day, he trains like a beast and it's not a coincidence.
““When you're delivering good news, it's so easy and it's so wonderful, and you get an incredible reaction, but we have to be prepared in our job to give other kinds of news and messages sometimes.
“It is for the best for the team and maybe not for the best for the individual, but you never know because some decisions that, at the time, you think are not good for you, they become the best decisions for your career, and I've experienced that myself.
“So, take them, make the most out of them and we'll see what happens the next day.”