Arsenal U23 coach Kevin Betsy admits he's delighted with the character his young players are developing this season.

The Gunners went top of the Premier League 2 table after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers on Monday night.

Folarin Balogun's late winner secured the three points after Arsenal were reduced to 10 men just eight minutes into the second half.

“First of all huge credit to Blackburn, they put on a really good performance in the second half and made it really difficult," Betsy told the club's website.

"Our performance in the first half was exceptional at times, some of the movements, the patterns of play and the chances we created were excellent.

"We could have been 3-0 up in the first half, their keeper made some fantastic saves, but we took our goals well.

"We knew it was 2-0 at half time and they came back against Liverpool and drew 2-2 here in their last home game, so we knew what to expect in the second half.

"I just felt we didn't control the ball in the first five or 10 minutes of the second half, we had a really good chance to go 3-0 up with Flo [Balogun] with a left-foot strike, but the keeper saved it, that goes in and it's probably put to bed.

"But then they showed good resilience, I think it was a bit harsh the sending off and also the penalty, but we respect the referee, he made the decision and we just have to get on with it."

The win marks the second impressive comeback in as many league games for us and the boss was keen to praise the players' resilience.

“The group has got tremendous character," he said.

"They've done this before with 10 men in the past this season and come up with a win when it looks like we could lose, there's fantastic character amongst the players tonight.

“It's part of our identity, it's part of who we are as a club, developing strong young Gunners here at Arsenal, it's credit to the players.

"They've done it numerous times this season, It's not a fluke.

“When the chips are down or it looks like we might lose a game or come away with just a draw, they find a way to win the game and it shows great resilience and character.

"Credit to the guys, they work really hard in training every single day and they get their rewards come match day."