Arsene Wenger hailed two-goal hero Mathieu Flamini following his fine performance against Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal managed to progress into the fourth round of the Capital One Cup with an impressive 2-1 victory over Spurs at White Hart Lane on Wednesday and the unlikely hero for the Gunners was midfielder Flamini.

The Frenchman scored a stunning brace to help Arsenal to victory in the North London derby and following the clash, manager Wenger lavished the 31-year-old with praise.

"You do not expect Mathieu Flamini to score two goals but he was certainly frustrated for a long time and he went for it," said Wenger.

"He has worked very hard recently and I saw in training he was very focused, that he had come back to a good level, also I wanted to strengthen our defensive midfield. He is a fighter, Mathieu, and a winner as well.

"I told him at the start of the season it might be difficult for him to be a starter, but he decided to stay and he did fight."