Ed’s note – I am ashamed to admit that I missed the Carling Cup match v Liverpool and – due to being abroad – had no way of catching it. Hence no thoughts on the game last week from yours truly. However, regular correspondent Ian Henry has sent in the following…

Arsenal’s second string is better than Liverpool’s. And what else can we say about Project Youth?

The Carling Cup was used not just to give some youngsters an outing but also to bring back Nasri, Eduardo and Bendtner after varying periods out through injury. The returning trio, plus the outstanding Merida and Ramsey, were just too good for Liverpool’s collection of youngsters and bit-part players. Even so, Babel should have equalised in the last few minutes, which would have been harsh.

As Wenger observed in his post-match interview, it was a highly technical game and featured three excellent goals, namely special strikes from Merida and Insua and a great team goal rounded off by Bendtner. Craig Eastmond, our youth team right back last season, made an excellent debut in centre midfield – intriguingly one promising Englishman was chosen ahead of an equally promising Frenchman, Francis Coquelin. How often has that happened at Arsenal in the Wenger era?

The match highlights apart, what can we learn from Arsenal’s latest Carling Cup victory, apart from the fact that Arsenal have demonstrably better squad strength than Liverpool? Going through the team, we saw:

* A good, confident performance from Fabianski – who surely would have played aganst Spurs had he not got injured

* A good performance from the centre backs – Silvestre looked sharp and committed; it seemed to me that he has decided to enjoy his final season here in semi-retirement; and Senderos too was solid and committed. It would have been harsh had Liverpool had a penalty when Aquilani’s shot hit his arms, although some refs would have given it I am sure.

* In midfield, Ramsey and Eastmond were exceptional, Merida and Nasri full of trickery and excellent interplay.

* Bendtner and Eduardo worked hard without being exceptional, feeling themselves back into the game after periods out; and Bendtner, as noted above, did score a very good goal.

* Coquelin, Watt and Randall made brief performances at the end and Watt might well have scored.

Gibbs, Merida and Ramsey confirmed to me that they are ready for the real first team. Eastmond was a revelation and must be worth another look; and Gilbert did enough to suggest he could cover at right back occasionally in the first team, although his lack of height will probably count against him in the long run.

Good performances in the Carling Cup are all fine and dandy, but what matters is seeing these players progress into the proper first team. I know Wenger points out how Song, Denilson and a few others started their first team careers at Arsenal in the Carling Cup, so there is hope for some of this team; however, what we need to see is for Gibbs, Merida and Ramsey, plus the missing Vela and Wilshere, to be given their sustained chances in the real first team. When that happens (and Messrs Diaby and Eboue are dropped!) then Project Youth can be said to have succeeded.

Competition result

Another Ed’s note! - We promised we’d reveal the result of our Football Manager 2010 competition today, and as I can’t be sure there will be an opportunity to do it elsewhere before Monday turns to Tuesday, then here are the lucky winners.

The two PC/Mac versions of the game on go to – Vimal Hemraj, Leicester & Gareth Lewis, Winchester. Whilst the handheld Sony PSP version was won by Andy Baker, Stevenage

The correct answer was Mikael Silvestre.

We’ll be running a comp for readers of The Gooner fanzine to win more Football Manager 2010 prizes in issue 200, on sale from Saturday 21st November (Sunderland away)