Arsenal have been hailed for producing the ‘two best young players in Europe’ by ex-England defender Stuart Pearce. 

Gunners fans have been left disappointed after Mikel Arteta’s side went a fifth successive season without a trophy. 

Arsenal failed to keep pace with Premier League champions Liverpool and were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by PSG. 

The Gunners also fell short in the domestic cup competitions, with Arsenal now facing a crucial summer to improve Arteta’s squad and end the club’s trophy drought. 

Despite the lack of silverware, Pearce says ‘very stable’ Arsenal are still on an ‘upward trend’ and only need a couple of shrewd signings to go to the ‘next level’. 

Pearce’s confidence in Arsenal stems partly from the fact he believes the Gunners have the ‘two best young players in Europe’ in Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly. 

Saka continues to have a huge impact for club and country while Lewis-Skelly, 18, is also rated as one of the best players in the Premier League after a breakout season at the Emirates Stadium. 

Asked whether Arsenal had ‘gone backwards’ since last year, Pearce said on the Seaman Says podcast with Betway: ‘I think it’s a little bit difficult this year when you compare to last year, because this year you’ve had three teams that have been relegated and hardly got any points, but you’ve had a mid-band of teams that have been even stronger. 

‘Fulham have been strong, Brentford have been strong, Forest have come strong again, Brighton and Crystal Palace too. So they’re getting points off the teams above them. 

‘You’ve got the likes of West Ham and Tottenham that can win any game on any given day, and Manchester United did that to Arsenal in the FA Cup. So you’ve got teams right at the bottom of the league, not in the relegation places, that can all pick points up. 

‘That probably is directly reflective of the lack of points Arsenal have picked up this year. I probably look at it from a coach or manager’s viewpoint and say, is there an upward trend at Arsenal? Are they a very stable club in what they’re trying to achieve? 

‘And the answer is yes. I think to myself that they’re permanently in the Champions League places, no doubt about that. 

‘They’ve probably been permanently one or two players away from really going to that next level. So I would stick with the manager. He’s a consistent manager who is growing and growing.’ 

On Arsenal’s failure to sign a top striker in recent years, Pearce added: ‘I’ve found this before, people think it’s easy to go out and buy a centre-forward that can get you 25 goals a year. 

‘It’s the hardest thing in the world to do. Then the trouble is the likes of Chris Wood turns up, all of a sudden gets 20 goals a season – “well why didn’t we sign Chris Wood then?” It’s just ridiculous, but that’s football. 

‘We talk about Arsenal bringing players in and recruitment, they’ve got the best two youngsters in European football in Saka and Lewis-Skelly that they bought through the academy system. So that’s a real plus for Arsenal as well.’

Arsenal beat Southampton 2-1 on the final day to clinch second place in the Premier League for the third year in a row.

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Arsenal have been hailed for producing the ‘two best young players in Europe’ by ex-England defender Stuart Pearce. 

Gunners fans have been left disappointed after Mikel Arteta’s side went a fifth successive season without a trophy. 

Arsenal failed to keep pace with Premier League champions Liverpool and were knocked out of the Champions League in the semi-finals by PSG. 

The Gunners also fell short in the domestic cup competitions, with Arsenal now facing a crucial summer to improve Arteta’s squad and end the club’s trophy drought. 

Despite the lack of silverware, Pearce says ‘very stable’ Arsenal are still on an ‘upward trend’ and only need a couple of shrewd signings to go to the ‘next level’. 

Pearce’s confidence in Arsenal stems partly from the fact he believes the Gunners have the ‘two best young players in Europe’ in Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly. 

Saka continues to have a huge impact for club and country while Lewis-Skelly, 18, is also rated as one of the best players in the Premier League after a breakout season at the Emirates Stadium. 

Asked whether Arsenal had ‘gone backwards’ since last year, Pearce said on the Seaman Says podcast with Betway: ‘I think it’s a little bit difficult this year when you compare to last year, because this year you’ve had three teams that have been relegated and hardly got any points, but you’ve had a mid-band of teams that have been even stronger. 

‘Fulham have been strong, Brentford have been strong, Forest have come strong again, Brighton and Crystal Palace too. So they’re getting points off the teams above them. 

‘You’ve got the likes of West Ham and Tottenham that can win any game on any given day, and Manchester United did that to Arsenal in the FA Cup. So you’ve got teams right at the bottom of the league, not in the relegation places, that can all pick points up. 

‘That probably is directly reflective of the lack of points Arsenal have picked up this year. I probably look at it from a coach or manager’s viewpoint and say, is there an upward trend at Arsenal? Are they a very stable club in what they’re trying to achieve? 

‘And the answer is yes. I think to myself that they’re permanently in the Champions League places, no doubt about that. 

‘They’ve probably been permanently one or two players away from really going to that next level. So I would stick with the manager. He’s a consistent manager who is growing and growing.’ 

On Arsenal’s failure to sign a top striker in recent years, Pearce added: ‘I’ve found this before, people think it’s easy to go out and buy a centre-forward that can get you 25 goals a year. 

‘It’s the hardest thing in the world to do. Then the trouble is the likes of Chris Wood turns up, all of a sudden gets 20 goals a season – “well why didn’t we sign Chris Wood then?” It’s just ridiculous, but that’s football. 

‘We talk about Arsenal bringing players in and recruitment, they’ve got the best two youngsters in European football in Saka and Lewis-Skelly that they bought through the academy system. So that’s a real plus for Arsenal as well.’

Arsenal beat Southampton 2-1 on the final day to clinch second place in the Premier League for the third year in a row.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.