Alan Shearer says he hopes Arsenal do not consider Joe Willock as part of their plans for next season.
The midfielder has starred on loan at Newcastle United, scoring his fifth goal in 11 matches against Leicester City on Friday evening.
His strike against Leicester was the fourth consecutive game he has scored in, taking advantage of a lapse in concentration from Foxes defender Caglar Soyuncu to rob possession of the ball and run through to finish past goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel.
It prompted the Match of the Day twitter account to ask whether Willock could start for his parent club next season.
"Hopefully not, no," Shearer replied, adding eye emojis, suggesting he would like to see the 21-year-old extend his stay at the club.
Willock's goal means he has now scored the same amount of goals in his first 11 games for the Magpies that Shearer did when he first joined the club in 1996 - albeit the striker went on to net 27 times in his debut season on Tyneside.
Speaking on Sky Sports about the goal, former Magpies manager Graeme Souness blasted Soyuncu's role in the goal, arguing it was not good enough for a Premier League-standard defender.
Yet Souness also hailed Willock's form and claimed that his parent club could do with him having put in a dismal performance to be knocked out of the Europa League semi-finals by Villarreal on Thursday evening.
He said: "When you're in the middle of your defence and playing the central man in a three, you've got to be aware of your surroundings better than this, son, because he controls it beautifully for Willock.
"It's not good enough.
"Arsenal could do with Willock."
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