Arsene Wenger hailed Fran Merida's impact after the Spanish teenager helped fire his young Arsenal side into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup with a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Emirates Stadium.

The 19-year-old former Barcelona trainee returned from the Under-20 World Cup with Spain to drill in a fine first-half strike as Wenger's faith in youth was once again justified.

Nicklas Bendtner, himself only 21 but now a regular in the side, produced a powerful finish after 50 minutes to put Arsenal into the last eight after Emiliano Insua's spectacular equaliser.

"Fran is a quality player," said Wenger, who decided against allowing the youngster to go out to Levante on loan.

"He comes from a very good school. I kept him because I felt he had the quality to break through, but when you look at all the players who did not play, of course the competition for players is very difficult."

Wenger added: "Fran came to us at a very young age, but our school is in line with the way he was educated. He suits perfectly the way we want to play football."