Arsenal youngster Joe Willock has signed a new deal tying himself to the club until the end of the 2022/23 season, and says one of his top experiences this year has been facing former Spurs star Luka Modric.
The Gunners drew 2-2 against the Spanish giants in pre-season, losing 3-2 on penalties. Willock started the match in central midfield, up against the Ballon d'Or winner.
And Willock revealed that Modric is a midfielder he admires for many reasons - but he was not afraid of lining up against the Croatian star.
"Playing against such big teams in pre-season was a really big deal for me," he told Arsenal Player. "I always take it 100 per cent seriously because I want to show what I can do against the best players in the world.
"For me, the best experience over the summer was playing against a Ballon d'Or winner, Luka Modric. He's a central midfielder who I've always looked up to. I've watched him throughout my career.
"When I was younger and starting up, I was always watching how he used to caress the ball and play people in, the way he used to move past players... it's amazing really. It was a huge moment to be in the tunnel and look across to see him. That was big, but I've never feared anyone.
"Whoever you are, even if you're my idol, I'll go against you with everything I've got. My dad has raised me to never back down from any challenges. To play against him and test my ability against his, it was a big deal for me and that was probably the best moment of pre-season for me."
Willock says that he needs to add more goal contributions to his game, whether that be scoring or assisting, and that his goal is to secure a place in the first team.
"I need to continue working hard and striving to play at my best. I feel like I can add more goals to my game and more assists and keep on affecting the game in the best way I can and helping us to win. So yeah, I feel like I can score more goals.
"Obviously, I always want to be playing week in, week out in the first team and showing what I can do. So that's my main goal really, to break into the first team and establish myself and play week in, week out and show the fans what I can do."
