Arsenal under-21 boss Steve Bould was full of praise for his youngsters.
They had to battle hard in the Leasing.com Trophy against Northampton.
They managed to take the lead in the game, but were pegged back and ended up losing 4-3 on penalties. But Bould chose to focus on the positives.
He said to the club website: "I thought they were excellent.
"Not necessarily with their quality, but the biggest thing that came out of tonight was that we showed an awful lot of character and we did all the tough stuff that we spoke about before the game that this level demands.
"I think the only disappointing thing is that we could have been better with the ball, but I don't think I could ask for any more from them."
