Alan Pardew: “I was really pleased for Davide – he had to come off the bench after being left out.
"I think his form’s suffered a little bit, but he sealed us up at the end, and I was pleased with that.
“I was going to leave Davide Santon out against Arsenal – Ryan Taylor was going to play.
“At the last minute, I’ve had to turn to him and put him in the team.
“That takes a lot of character to play that night. Mental strength is a massive thing in the Premier League.
“He’s only a young boy. He’s an Under-21 Italian player. He ain’t one of those without talent. He’ll learn. It’ll have done him good.”