ARSENAL'S reserve team coach Neil Banfield was delighted with new signing Amaury Bischoff's first appearance in a Gunners shirt.

The midfielder played an hour in the team's 3-2 win over Stoke City and Banfield insists he was impressed with what he saw.

He told the club's website: "First of all I thought he did really well. We spoke to him at half-time and he wanted to keep playing and I’m never going to stop anyone from playing. We asked him to do another 10 or 15 minutes and then we brought him off from there."

There was more good news for Arsenal fans, as another new signing, Mikael Silvestre also enjoyed a strong run-out, with Banfield heaping praise on the Frenchman for his performance at the heart of the defence.

"It is fantastic. He has won so many trophies but he is still here flying out on the edge of the box and blocking shots,” added Banfield. “He is a credit to our profession and as a senior pro, it was first class, absolutely first class."