Arsenal stars Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli earned the praise of interim boss Freddie Ljungberg after they played key roles in Monday night’s win over West Ham United.

Martinelli - making his full Premier League debut - equalised with a well-taken finish on the hour mark, before Pepe curled home a sublime effort to put the Gunners ahead and then set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the third to complete a nine-minute turnaround in east London.

Speaking about the pair, Ljungberg said: "People always ask me about Nico and I try to explain.

"He comes from the French league, he comes to the Premier League - in my opinion the best league in the world - and it's a lot faster and a lot harder. He needs to adapt.

"People put pressure on him but that's not so easy, and I thought what he did today was he worked really hard offensively and defensively and showed his quality.

"I'm so pleased for him because at the same time he was a big, big buy for the club and then comes pressure with that as well. He will fall asleep with a smile tonight.

"Gabi is a fantastic player.

"He's still very young but he has that energy about him and he goes and he goes. He has no fear and he just keeps on going.

"So it's a pleasure to see him there on that pitch, and for him to get the success that he did today, it gives you a smile to your face."