Teenage kicks 2

Arsenal 3 Wigan 0

As has become habitual in the Carling Cup, it was men against boys at the Emirates last night. And, not for the first time, this morning everyone is eulogising Arsene Wenger's 'galactikids'.

OK, so it wasn't 6-0 this time, as it was against Sheffield United in the previous round, but it could easily have been if not for some top-class saves by Chris Kirkland. And even though the visitors had a clear penalty denied when still only 1-0 down, Wigan manager Steve Bruce was quick to admit his team had been thoroughly outplayed: the gulf in class was that obvious.

8 of the 11 Arsenal starters last night are teenagers, including a 16-year old, Jack Wilshere, who dazzled all night with his quick feet and earned the man of the match award. To put this into context, the precocious Theo Walcott, himself a callow 19-year old, would have been Arsenal's fourth-oldest outfield player last night.

And it's not the result that impresses the most: it's the style in which it was accomplished. This side played without fear or inhibition, and they did so playing the same brand of football the first team employs, neat one and two-touch passing and movement which, when it works, leaves frustrated opponents chasing shadows.

Last night it worked beautifully against a near-full strength Wigan side who seemed at times utterly bereft of ideas to stop their youthful opponents. The Emirates is not a stadium which sees many scrappy goals, and yesterday was no exception. Wilshere's slide-rule ball set up Jay Simpson (a comparative veteran at nearly 20) for the opener - Cesc Fabregas and Liam Brady would both have been proud of the pass. A lightning counter-attack covering the length of the field saw Carlos Vela unselfishly square for Simpson to tap in the second. And then Vela himself finished the job, timing his run perfectly to chase on to a through ball to execute, at full speed and holding off a defender's challenge, a delicate one-touch lob over the advancing Kirkland.

They were three goals any team would have been proud of. Major kudos should go not only to Wenger and the players, but also to Brady, who heads up the club's youth development programme, and to Steve Rowley, whose network of scouts is responsible for re-stocking a conveyor belt of young talent which seems to grow stronger with every passing year.

The club's approach to ticketing should also be applauded. To ensure a packed ground, tickets for last night's game were reduced to just £10 (£5 for kids and pensioners), bringing in new fans who might otherwise never attend a game. In a game which is increasingly driven by cash (and for a club with hundreds of millions of pounds of debt to pay off) that's no small gesture.

The Carling Cup may be considered a minor irritant by many clubs, but I'm particularly pleased at the way my club approaches it, in terms of both the playing and the adminstrative side of it. Even if we don't win the trophy, there is so much to be proud of already.

And watch out for players such as Wilshere, Vela, Simpson, Fran Merida and Gavin Hoyte, not to mention current senior squad members Alex Song, Johan Djourou and Aaron Ramsey. To the wider world, these are the stars of tomorrow. To Arsenal fans privileged enough to have watched this current Carling Cup run, they are already stars today.