Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has compared Emile Smith Rowe with an Arsenal legend.
The 20-year-old has been in irresistible form for the Gunners in recent weeks and delivered the goods in the 3-0 win over Newcastle on Monday night.
The attacking midfielder ran at Newcastle's Jamaal Lascelles before squaring an inch-perfect pass to Bukayo Saka, and his teammate tucked the ball home to make it 2-0, either side of goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
For the second time in recent weeks, Saka, 19, likened Smith Rowe to Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne, first in the West Brom win on January 2 and then against the Magpies last night.
And the praise for Smith Rowe, who has three assists in five Premier League games and has scored two goals in all competitions this term, shows no sign of abating.
Former Manchester United defender Neville sees similarities between the youngster and Robert Pires, who was part of the 2003-04 'Invincibles' season at Arsenal.
Neville said on Monday Night Football: “I think he’s found the way forward, going into the Chelsea game, it was desperate.
"Before the game, I was expecting them to get a real good going over by Chelsea. It was transformative that day.
"The young kids got brought in, and all of a sudden, they looked like a team. I remember saying in the first-half, the Arsenal fans will like this, they’ll like watching the players, they’ll resonate with them, they’ll connect.
"You watch Emile Smith Rowe play, I agree, you watch a lot of young players play football and they’re frantic.
"Their choices are usually erratic and they don’t get it right."
But Neville explained how that isn't the case for Smith Rowe.
"He doesn’t run with the ball, he glides and he moves with it, and he’s always at a point where you feel like he can release it," he said.
"The real best players travel with the ball but are always in a position where you feel like they can release it at the right moment.
"He’s connected, he’s switched on, he’s clever. He’s an Arsenal player that I feel like is a big compliment to Arsene Wenger and how he impacted my mind as an opposing player for many years, brilliant players like Pires, who travel with the ball so intelligently, he reminds me of.
"He could’ve played in the old Arsenal teams, the way in which he plays.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said Smith Rowe was one of a group of youngsters thriving at the club.
He told BBC Sport: "They are doing really well because they have the senior ones pushing them, coaching them, helping them all the time. I really like the chemistry."
