Arsenal and Tottenham monitoring Barnsley defence starlet Mason Holgate

Arsenal along with arch rivals Tottenham are reportedly tracking Barnsley defender Mason Holgate.

According to the Mirror, the north London rivals have been sending scouts on a regular basis to monitor the young defender's progress following his first-team debut earlier in the season.

The League One defender, who only signed his first pro contract in September, made his first-team debut in December. He is also on the radar of Everton. The report claims that a number of top flight clubs are keeping tabs on the Barnsley defender.

Arsene Wenger is always on the lookout for the best young talent and seems to have identified Holgate as a future Arsenal defender.

Barnsley Academy manager Ronnie Branson has admitted that they have had interest from other clubs for the defender and is confident that Holgate, whom he claims to be 'bright and intelligent' can progress to become a top player in the future.

"Mason is a bright and intelligent player. He's a good centre-half and we have high hopes for him to progress. We've had interest from other Clubs for Mason," Branson said, as quoted by the Mirror.

Looks like the 18-year-old defender will have his pick of top clubs when he decides to move from League One to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has praised his teammates' defending after they held on to beat high-flying West Ham United 2-1 at Upton Park on Sunday.

The Gunners, who looked comfortable with a 2-0 lead going into half-time faced some nervous moments after Cheikhou Kouyaté pulled one back just after the break. But despite having a few chances to kill the game off, the Arsenal players defended resolutely to bag the three crucial points.

"I'm very happy [with the win]. It's a difficult game and an important one for us," Cazorla said, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.

"West Ham are a good team and our team defended with a good spirit and were compact. Now we have some rest because we have a big game at Southampton," the Spaniard added.