Coyle admits young Gunners are already the pass masters

Published on Monday 1 December 2008 23:20

BURNLEY manager Owen Coyle was so impressed at watching Arsenal's young side he almost switched off the DVD.

Coyle already knew about the massive impression Arsene Wenger's second-string side had made in the Carling Cup before the Clarets were paired with them in tonight's quarter-final. Now the Scot knows just what to expect at Turf Moor.

In Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, Coyle is convinced Arsenal have a pair of teenagers capable of going to the very top of the game. The assessment is easy, finding a way to stop them is the hard part.

"I watched their games against Sheffield United and Wigan," he said. "At one point I thought about turning it off because I couldn't bear it any more. They are the yardstick for everyone who is aspiring to play a passing game."

At 17, Ramsey has already won full international honours for Wales. One year his junior, Wilshere has caught the eye of Fabio Capello, who expects him to be handed an England Under-21 call before the season's end. The sudden elevation is not a surprise to Coyle, and he is not expecting the rise to stop there either.

"Four or five of that team will reach the very highest level," he said. "I am not talking about good international players, I mean beyond that. Ramsey is unbelievable. At 16, the world is Wilshere's oyster. The maturity they show is way beyond their years.

"I played with people for 15 years who were still not experienced in the game. These kids have that. The relationship they have with one another in terms of interchange of passing and movement is exceptional."

When asked what positives he took from Arsenal's six-goal mauling of Sheffield United and the three that followed against Wigan in the last round, the best Coyle could come up with was: "Both games were 0-0 before the start."

Not that he is worried about the visitors. Having eliminated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last month, he sees no need for that, especially as the success was totally deserved. But Coyle, who has made a positive impression at Burnley and has guided his side to fourth in the Coca-Cola Championship table, realises his team must climb another mountain to make the last four.

"We are being spoken about in nice terms but we are under no illusions about how difficult this will be," he said. "We will have to be totally concentrated and focused. We have reached where we are by playing good football and I see no reason to change."

Wenger will once again use a young side at Turf Moor, but would also include veteran defender Mikael Silvestre as well as other substitutes from Sunday's Premier League game against Chelsea.