Hughes: Different class Barton has answered his critics

QPR boss Mark Hughes hailed the contribution of Joey Barton after the midfielder bounced back from being booed by his own fans to star in a 2-1 win over Arsenal.

Former Tottenham midfielder Adel Taarabt opened the scoring for QPR in the first half before Samba Diakite wrapped up a 2-1 for the west Londoners following Theo Walcott's equaliser.

Barton was recalled to the starting XI after being dropped for a poor performance against Liverpool and Hughes said: "I thought Joey was different class.

"He got a lot of stick last time out because his performance level wasn't high enough and he acknowledged that.

"I thought the crowd was great in terms of how they encouraged him and they willed him to a top-class performance."