Arsenal boss happy with Emirates Cup performance despite loss

London: His side may have been clearly lacking in experience against Juventus, but Arsene Wenger praised his youngsters for their brave effort after going down 1-0 in their first pre-season game at the Emirates.

Arsenal fell short of ideas - not that Juve showed much desire once France striker David Trezeguet had scored the match-winner in the 35th minute - and with the Turin defending in typical Italian fashion, the Gunners failed to impress.

The defeat means Aresnal run the risk of surrendering the Emirates Cup trophy they won a year ago.

Both Juve and Real Madrid have a solid chance of leaving London with the trophy after wins in their first games; the Spanish champions beat Hamburg 2-1 to top the four-team table on points.

The competition awards the usual three points for a win but also one for each goal scored.

Wenger though was in a cheerful mood after watching his young guns, which included new signings Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri along with Jack Wilshere, who has come through the ranks, prove their dependability in front of a capacity crowd of 60,024.

"It was a very, very young side; under-21 really, especially in the first half and we were unlucky to concede that goal," said Wenger, whose side face Real Madrid next.

Experience needed

"We needed the experience to score and lacked a bit of physical sharpness, but there have been no injuries so there are no worries. We also lacked in match sharpness against an Italian team that played in an Italian way.

"He (Jack) is unfazed by his small size and has all the qualities of a young player; we have to respect his age and should not forget that he is only 16 years old.

"I feel we were unlucky last season because we lost games after leading 1-0 and picked up some bad injuries along the way. I feel we have to strengthen our belief in the way we play and keep complete confidence in these young players."

Wenger reserved special praise for young keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who he feels will challenge current number one Manuel Almunia this season for first team action.