MARTIN KEOWN: My pride in Arsenal kids reviving the spirit of old

That 4-2 win over Chelsea was a match that Arsenal's academy might want to keep on tape and show to their age-group squads. It's a great lesson — just look at what you can achieve at this club.

I was at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night and told manager Mikel Arteta afterwards that the academy should be proud of themselves. I'm sure they are.

A resounding result such as this, in a game that Arsenal needed to win, is a ringing endorsement of all their hard work. The four goals came from the feet of academy kids Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.

They were among six English starters — and the last time that happened was at Fulham in September 2001, when I was one of them! We won 3-1 and went on to do the double that season.

What a feeling it must have been for the boys in the Arsenal changing room after Wednesday's win. 

I've had that feeling — coming through the youth system with your mates but now you're in the first team, winning games at the top level. It's a dream.

You gain a love for the club when you're in the academy and an appreciation for what these matches mean. 

I grew up at Arsenal. We would watch the first team every Saturday from the paddock which was behind the dugouts at Highbury. All of the youth sides would sit together, dreaming of someday being out there ourselves.

Once you've made it on to that pitch, you almost have to pinch yourself to believe it's happening.

In the early days of Arsene Wenger, he struck a perfect balance. Wenger had players who had come through the ranks, English players who had been there for a lengthy period, and he enhanced the team by bringing in top talent from abroad.

It's important to have that pathway so a young, local lad like London-born Saka can represent