Arsene Wenger believes the continued improvement of Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey bodes very well for the season ahead.

The British duo were in impressive form during Saturday’s friendly against Manchester City, assisting each other on the way to a promising 3-1 victory.

Having also put in eye-catching shifts in the tour of Asia, the boss told Arsenal Player that he was happy with both players pre-season impact.

“I have always believed in Aaron and I think he has shown again what a tremendous engine and what desire he has.

“His vision has improved and his tactical aspect has improved a lot. He’s growing into a very strong player.”

On Walcott, Wenger added: “Walcott put in a great performance. I’m happy with both sides of his game – he defended very well and [set up] two goals.

“His game has improved tremendously because he’s an intelligent player. When you’re intelligent, you always improve.”

Given we’ve yet to significantly strengthen the squad this summer it’s just as well both Walcott and Ramsey (apparently now carrying a knock) have returned from their break fully focused.

It’s something that Per Mertesacker also touched on ahead of the season-opener against Villa next weekend.

“That’s what we are looking forward to – a good, serious win so everybody sees that we are mentally ready for a long season.

“We have to focus on every single match as if it’s our last game. We will take care about [doing] it.”