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Ian Wright praised Arsenal duo Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka for their performances in the 1-0 victory away to Brighton in the Premier League yesterday.

The Gunners managed to record back-to-backs wins in the league, as they followed up the victory over Chelsea by earning another three points against Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

French striker Alexandre Lacazette was the match-winner for Mikel Arteta’s side and he scored midway through the second-half immediately after entering the action as a substitute.

They travel to West Brom in their next match during the New Year and are slowly starting to drag themselves up the table after a shocking start domestically.

Pundit and ex-Gunners forward Wright picked out two Arsenal stars for their contributions on Tuesday night.

Smith Rowe, 20, looked a real danger in the central attacking position in the pocket behind the striker and was a creative threat.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old winger Saka assisted Lacazette’s goal with his pass in the box and was a nightmare for the opposition on the right wing all game.

“You look at Emile Smith Rowe here… his touch, his energy, the fitness. You’ve got [the opponents] stretched. This is the problem we had with the creativity, but when you look at him here look at how they break,” Wright said on BBC One (11:12pm, 29 December).

He added: “Saka was fantastic today. He’s literally held the club up on his own for a little while with creativity.”

TBR’s View:

Smith Rowe has added some real energy and creativity to the Arsenal team during the past couple of games, which is why fans had been calling for him to get opportunities in the league after impressing in the Europa League group stages.

The London-born playmaker has a lot of developing and maturing to do, but he’s helped to inject something extra to what has been a lacklustre attack and he picks up such intelligent positions on the pitch.

Despite being a teenager, Saka already looks one of the most important individuals at the Emirates Stadium and he’s stepped up massively this season.

The senior England international was a hit last year with his first-team breakthrough at the North London club, but now the majority of Arsenal’s positive play goes through him on a weekly basis.