Arsenal U21 captain Matt Smith says he's enjoyed his time with the senior squad this season.

Smith wrote for arsenal.com: "I think there was a little bit of an adaptation period at the start because it's obviously massively different from what I had been experiencing with a League One team to then working under Mikel. Tactically it's massive under Mikel, so I had to get used to it again after being away from that for two years, but now I think I've adapted well to them and I'm comfortable with the staff and players in the first-team.

"I would definitely say there's a difference to training with this group than my first spell training with the first team. The togetherness and camaraderie is massive – you can see the players in training are demanding a lot from each other and that comes from the boss. Everyone has such high standards and I feel that's why we're doing so well at the moment.

"Two years ago, before I went on my first loan, Granit was really good for me and I think any of the younger players going up because he sets the level so high and demands that from not only himself but every player, every day. I think he's a top professional and someone a lot of Academy players can look up to. Coming back to this environment two years later, Granit is exactly the same and you can see in his performances recently that he has gone up another couple of gears.

"He's someone that both before and now I've always looked up to and he's helped me with bits along the way. Then Thomas Partey plays in my position as a holding midfielder, and I look at him in training and try to pick up on little bits that he does and how he implements things that the boss wants tactically."