STEVE Kean has described Blackburn Rovers central midfield trio as ‘pivotal’ to Saturday’s heroic point at Arsenal.

The proud Rovers boss was full of praise for his entire squad after a brave goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium but believes stifling the hosts’ midfield flair was the key.

Kean deployed Phil Jones, making his first start since December, in a deep-lying midfield role with Jermaine Jones and Steven Nzonzi adding further protection in the heart of the midfield.

The trio were charged with stopping the likes of Alex Song, Jack Wilshere and Samir Nasri create from the centre of the park, with Kean delighted with how they responded.

He said: “Phil Jones along with Jermaine Jones and Steven Nzonzi were pivotal in allowing us to get a result.

“We work hard on the training ground and we felt if we could close down their midfield three and not allow them to pick their heads up it would be our best chance.

“If they get their heads up they can play any pass in the book so we worked very, very hard on that and full credit to the lads for carrying out their game plan.

“The first-half performance tactically we were good and we had a couple of half chances. We couldn’t ask any more from the players. They gave everything.”

Jermaine Jones has only showed glimpses of what he is capable of since arriving on loan from Schalke in January, but Kean has remained a big admirer.

He responded in fine style on Saturday with a tenacious performance to silence some of his critics, with Kean admitting his contribution was even more impressive after his international commitments.

“Jermaine Jones was immense,” said Kean. “He has been all over the world in the last week.

“He has been in New York, Nashville and never got off a plane until 7am on Thursday and he was shattered.

“That emphasises what we have got as a group because he didn’t want to come off until his legs were almost seized up.”

Rovers’ task was made even harder with little over 10 minutes remaining when Nzonzi was shown a straight red card for a two-footed tackle on Laurent Koscielny.

Kean said: “When I first saw Steven’s tackle I thought it looked a bit nasty but when I looked at it again, he gets the ball and it is one of those when it could go yellow or red, but we respect the decision and move on.”