Bukayo Saka has hailed Freddie Ljungberg’s work in helping Arsenal’s youngsters acclimatise to first-team football after a youthful Gunners side earned an impressive win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Unai Emery’s matchday squad contained five academy graduates and a starting line-up with an average age of 24.7 secured a 3-0 victory which condemned the hosts to their first home European defeat for 13 years.

On a somewhat chaotic night in which both sides missed several clear chances, Saka and Joe Willock excelled.

Willock broke the deadlock seven minutes before half-time with a deflected strike before Saka, who turned 18 earlier this month, became the youngest scorer for Arsenal in Europe since October 2008 with a fine curling effort from the edge of the box.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added a late third to leave Saka with a goal and two assists on only his fifth senior start for the club.

Emery’s promotion of youth is a tangible reflection of his decision to promote Ljungberg to his first-team coaching set-up this season. The Swede, who spent nine years at Arsenal as a player, rejoined the club in July 2016 originally working with the Under-15s before working his way through the age groups and replacing Steve Bould as assistant first-team coach.

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With Emery still working hard to improve his English, Saka believes Ljungberg’s presence is invaluable in helping the next generation thrive with Willock, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles now all part of the senior group.

“It helps so much [to have Ljungberg there],” Saka said. “Sometimes when I don’t understand, when the coach is trying to communicate with me, I have a better communication with Freddie sometimes, he speaks better English.

“Freddie’s information, he’s been a player at this level before, and it’s vital for me because I play in the same position and he’s been a big part in my progress.

“He gives a lot of advice to me every day but the best piece of advice he’s given me is to stay humble. He’s been with me since I was 15, seen me do amazing things but he always tells me to stay humble, keep working hard because he really thinks I can be a top player.”

Saka admitted he has watched videos of Ljungberg during his playing days as he looks to build on his progress, having only signed his first professional contract last September.

The winger revealed he idolised Cristiano Ronaldo growing up but cited his father as his biggest influence.

“I love [Ronaldo’s] mentality, he always wants to be the best, always working hard on and off the pitch, trying to make his body the best and when he gets on the pitch he performs with full confidence and full personality and shows why he’s one of the best players to ever play football,” said Saka, whose parents are originally from Nigeria.

“I had so many messages [after the game]: Instagram, WhatsApps and Snapchat. The notifications. I had them from everyone. I even gave my Dad a quick FaceTime call. He was so proud of me so it makes me happy.

“I couldn’t speak to him because the coaches wanted me to get in the ice bath because of recovery.

“He’s a massive inspiration for me. From when I was young, he always kept me grounded, kept me humble and I’m sure he’ll see some criticisms from last night, something I can get better from but I’m sure I would have made him happy.”

Saka has played just seven minutes of Premier League football, becoming the first player born in 2001 to appear in English football’s top flight when making a late substitute’s appearance against Fulham on New Year’s Day this year.

However, Arsenal will also face Vitoria and Standard Liege during the Europa League group stage and Saka believes the competition will give him further chances to impress, having made two appearances in Europe last term.

“There will be a lot of opportunities in the Europa League,” he said. “That’s how I made my debut last season [against Vorskla Poltava last November]. I hope I can continue to get more and more opportunities and keep progressing so I can maybe one day play in the Premier League and start playing for Arsenal’s first team.”