Losa - Kelly is an instinctive finisher

Pedro Martinez Losa has hailed Chloe Kelly’s potential after the teenager scored her first senior goal against Watford.

The 17-year-old made her first competitive start for Arsenal Ladies in Thursday’s Continental Cup match, and nodded home Danielle Carter’s cross to cap off a memorable performance.

Losa was afforded the opportunity to assess his younger players against their lower-league opponents, and the manager was impressed with what he saw.

“I was happy with the performance and I was also happy to give a chance to players who were 16 years old,” he told Arsenal.com. “This is the high-level competition that they need to continue their development and they reacted well.

“Chloe in particular has been putting in an incredible amount of effort. She scored a good goal but she has been training with the first team since January and she absolutely deserved her opportunity, and to score.

“She’s a player who can score goals with both feet because she has that instinct to be in the right position. She did a lot of things well but especially the goal. It was a good combination from Danielle and a good finish.

“The future of this club looks very positive and we were able to name a lot of teenagers on the bench, which has given them the experience to recognise the mental aspect of the game.

“Hopefully the experience that they had on Thursday will help them develop, and hopefully we will be able to see the best of these youngsters in the near future.”