LONDON -- Arsene Wenger praised Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny for giving Arsenal a spark after their 4-0 win over Watford kept alive the Gunners' faint Premier League title hopes.
Iwobi scored his second Arsenal goal in his second league start while Elneny helped shore up the midfield alongside Francis Coquelin in another solid display by the January signing.
"He has brought something to the team," Wenger said of Elneny. "He is a very intelligent player, and as well very mobile and works very hard for the team. He gives us tactical stability. Today with Coquelin they have made a very good pair in winning the ball and in the distribution as well."
The 19-year-old Iwobi drew more of the headlines as he set up the opening goal for Alexis Sanchez and then scored the second himself after taking a pass from the Chilean.
The teenager has gradually overtaken the likes of Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell as a regular starter on the wing over the past month and Wenger said his emergence shows the club's policy of bringing young players into the team is working.
"We have values in our club that are maybe not always rated. But one of the values we have at our club is to give young players the chance and to educate them," Wenger said at his news conference after the game.
"Every year we bring players out, and not many clubs can say that. And I'm happy that Iwobi is one of them, he arrived here at 7 or 8 years old. He is completely integrated in the way we want to play football.
"He has worked with us since the start of the season and it showed when he came in that he is used to the way we want to play."
Iwobi also hit the crossbar in the second half and was involved in most Arsenal attacks.
"When you're young you dream of this and this is like a dream come true, winning with this team," Iwobi told the BBC.
The win puts Arsenal eight points behind Leicester with both teams having seven games left to play. It was also a measure of revenge after Watford knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup last month. Watford never looked likely to spring another upset this time, though, as Arsenal dominated from the start.
"Today we combined the fact that we played well and that we could scored as well. In the cup game we had the same domination but couldn't score, and that makes a big difference," Wenger said.
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores acknowledged that his players lacked intensity and may already have one eye on the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley later this month. But he praised Arsenal's display as the best his team has faced this season and said the Gunners should not be counted out of the title race yet.
"I don't remember one team playing better than Arsenal," he said. "They have amazing players. For me the most organised team in the Premier League is Leicester. The teams that play best are Tottenham and Arsenal. All three can win the league."
Wenger said this win was a good "start" as the Gunners try to go on a late run, but added that they can't afford to look too far ahead with a tough away game at West Ham coming up next.
"We want to focus just on the way we play and keep the quality very high and then we'll see where we are," the Frenchman said. "We will fight until the end to have a chance."
