Owen Hargreaves has been sufficiently impressed by Arsenal in the Europa League to suggest they could win the competition thanks to the talents of their young players.
A 4-2 win over Dundalk saw the Gunners end their group campaign with six wins from six and the former Manchester United and City midfielder saw enough from their squad players and starlets to feel they can go all the way.
That’s despite some extremely poor performances and generally below-par results in the Premier League this season, plus the fact Arsenal had an extremely weak group to navigate: Irish side Dundalk finished bottom without a point, with Austrian outfit Rapid Wien finishing third and Norwegians Molde progressing alongside the Gunners.
“Arsenal have a genuine chance of winning this competition," Hargreaves said on BT Sport. ”Balogun came on and had a good impact.
"We’ve seen Willock have a terrific impact in this competition and Saka before.
“It’s brilliant for these young kids from the academy to come here and play football at this level and this will mean a ton to them. A couple more came on today and showed real quality moments.”
Other Europa League group stage winners included Serie A leaders AC Milan and Premier League rivals Leicester - who are fourth - and Tottenham, who are top of the table while Mikel Arteta’s side sit 15th.
Meanwhile, former Arsenal defender Mikel Arteta praised the impact of young striker Folarin Balogun.
He has yet to play in the Premier League but the 19-year-old has two goals and an assist from four sub appearances in the Europa League.
“I just like the way he is always looking on the shoulder and his movement. The way he scores the goal, the way he comes onto it he is pointing, give me it, this is my moment,” Keown said.
“He has had to wait for his opportunity, he is 19 years old and showing really good signs.”
