Arsene Wenger today vowed to make English players the backbone of his team for years to come following the success of his 'reserve' team in the third round of the Carling Cup.

Four English players started the 6-0 win over Sheffield United - Jack Wilshere, 16, Gavin Hoyte 18, Kieran Gibbs, 19, and Mark Randall, 18 - and although it is unlikely that any will start against Hull City tomorrow, Wenger is excited about the success of the youth development at the club.

Wenger said: "People want to see more and more but I have a responsibility for results. I don't want to burn them out too early. They have to have a psychological and physical improvement and I have to get that combination right.

"We are in an international world and I always knew that I wanted to produce 60 per cent of homegrown talent and 40 per cent from elsewhere in the world. The mixture together should be a great Arsenal side, but early on there was not the talent in England so we had to go looking abroad but now I feel that we are finding more English players.

"We had [Jermaine] Pennant, [David] Bentley and [Steve] Sidwell that came out of Arsenal but we are now more complete.

"If we can keep on our toes and not drop our development in any area that I cannot see why this success cannot continue, but we are not pretentious enough to expect it."

The Arsenal boss also revealed that he will use Theo Walcott as an example for the talented teenagers to follow because of the lessons the winger has learned in his rise to fame this season. Walcott struggled to live up to his billing early on but showed his true potential with a hat-trick in England's 4-1 win in Croatia.

Wenger added: "Theo can advise boys like that because I always thought that he had an exceptional level of 'feet on the ground'. He took playing in the first team very well and I am not sure that everybody can do that but Theo can be a good advisor."

The Frenchman insisted, though, that he will still give foreign young talent the opportunity to shine at Emirates Stadium.

Wenger today pointed to the development of Carlos Vela as proof that he did not need to buy any new strikers this summer even though the Mexican has made a truncated journey into the first team.

Since moving from Chivas de Guadalajara for £2.5million in 2005, the 19-year-old has had loan spells at Osasuna, Salamanca and Celta Vigo while awaiting a work permit to play in England. Now finally eligible for British football, Vela has made his Premier League, Champions League and Carling Cup debuts in the last month, marking the latter with a stunning hat-trick on Wednesday.

In his brief Arsenal career to date, Vela has shown a tremendous awareness of what is around him and his seamless link play suggests he communicates with his team-mates on an almost ethereal level.

Sadly, that isn't the case off the pitch - yet. The Cancun-born forward is embarking upon the latest leg of his career by himself. Without parents or friends to guide, London can be an intimidating place, even with the backing of a club like Arsenal.

"It's just me," he told this month's edition of Arsenal Magazine. "But a friend of mine from Mexico is coming over to see me next month.

"My parents are visiting soon too, so I'm not without visitors. My brother Alejandro is currently playing for Cruz Azul in Mexico."

Learning the language is going to be a must for Vela judging by one situation he got into recently. He added: "When you have the native language you can solve any situation you come across. I was lost for three hours in central London at one point and just had to hail a taxi to take me home in the end.

"I'm taking English lessons, it will be important for both my professional and personal lives."