Ronaldo Koeman described Cesc Fabregas as one of the best midfielders in the world after the Spaniard inspired Arsenal to a 4-1 win over AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday.Fabregas scored twice to virtually assure the Gunners of a place in the knockout stages and A

Ronaldo Koeman described Cesc Fabregas as one of the best midfielders in the world after the Spaniard inspired Arsenal to a 4-1 win over AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday.

Fabregas scored twice to virtually assure the Gunners of a place in the knockout stages and AZ boss Koeman was impressed.

"He is a great footballer," Koeman said. "He was involved in nearly everything - but they have many players who really don't need many chances to score."

But the Dutch legend, a European Cup winner with Barcelona in 1992, issued a word of warning - saying Arsenal's young squad need more experience.

"They are a fantastic team with lots of quality and make many chances," he added.

"But they are also a very young team and they maybe lack the experience that say Chelsea and Barcelona have when it comes to the latter stages.

"But that does not mean they can't go a long way in the competition because in knockout it's very close and it's just two matches. They will be one of the teams that can go far."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was delighted after a comprehensive display in which Samir Nasri, with his first of the season, and Abou Diaby also scored.

But he singled out Russian star Andrey Arsavin for special praise.

"Arshavin was outstanding because he gave the ball every time at the fraction of a second you wanted him to give the ball. That's top, top quality."

The Gunners top Group H and only need a point from their last two games to guarantee qualifcation.

Wenger added: "It was a brilliant performance. We dominated technically, tactically and were never under threat. We played with confidence - overall I'm very happy.