Emmanuel Frimpong admits getting on the bench for Arsenal last season was a thrill.

"That trip to Portsmouth was definitely my highlight of the season ," the midfielder recalled to arsenal.com. "But I never thought I'd be in the first team to be honest.

"Arsenal are a big club and they're always challenging at the top of the Premier League. I didn't imagine contributing to the first team this early.

"But I guess you never know if you have been playing well. Players get injured and you can get called up because of that. But it never even entered my mind that I'd be playing with the first team this year."