Everton midfielder Ross Barkley has insisted that he will take plenty of positives away from his Asia Trophy final display.

The England international scored a fine individual consolation strike in the Toffees' 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in Singapore.

Despite the loss, which came on the back of a goalless draw against Stoke City earlier in the week, Barkley insists that confidence is growing in the camp.

"I'm pretty pleased with the strike, It was a great effort with my weaker foot," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Star. "When it went in, I felt more confident in myself.

"That's going to be an early boost for me going into the next pre-season games and the start of the season. I felt I played pretty well when I came on for the second half, but we made a few errors in getting our rustiness out of the way.

"A few of the lads had some good chances. We're getting rid of the cobwebs at the start of pre-season and we'll get our sharpness back over the next few games."

Everton take on Hearts in seven days' time in their next pre-season outing.