Birmingham City boss Gianfranco Zola has hailed Arsenal loanee Krystian Bielik.

Bielik joined Birmingham from Arsenal on loan in January and following a slow start, the young midfielder has managed to make a positive impression at St. Andrews in recent weeks.

The 19-year-old performed well during clashes against Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers over the past two games, and Zola has gone on to sing praises of the Arsenal starlet by stating that he is not surprised by the impact the youngster has managed to make.

Zola said: "A lot of people may have been surprised how good he (Krystian) was, but not me or my coaches.

"From the very first day we saw his personality and ability and the way he's so calm with the ball.

"So far he's played the whole game against Preston and the 35 minutes the other day. But even against Preston after the first 20 minutes he was very good and got better and better so I know I can rely on him.

"And amongst the other players he's getting a lot of respect. Whether he is going to play tomorrow or in the next few games we will wait and see."