Mikel Arteta has hinted youngster Eddie Nketiah is set to play an important role over the remainder of the season and beyond at Arsenal.
The 21-year-old is one of the bright prospects to emerge from the club's academy, but his involvement with the senior side has accelerated in the last six months.
It looked as though he would be sent back out on loan in January after being recalled from his spell at Leeds, where he struggled to earn regular starts.
However after monitoring the striker's talents, Arteta decided to keep the player at close quarters, and now has big plans for his future.
"We treat Eddie as an important part of our squad," Arteta said in a press conference on Monday. "We had to make an important decision not to let him go on loan again after the spell he had at Leeds.
"I watched him train and I was very convinced he was the right player for us to move us to the next level, that he can contribute in a big way to to the way we want to play.
"He has been fantastic so far."
Nketiah has scored three times in seven appearances since returning from Leeds, pushing himself into first-team contention.
He has even started three Premier League clashes among those ahead of Alexandre Lacazette, offering an indication of how highly Arteta rates him.
And with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's future hanging in the balance, there could be more opportunities for Nketiah to come.
Arteta has shown he is keen to give young players a chance, and the increase to five substitutes will provide him with more options, as well as the need for rotation in their congested fixture schedule.
Asked about the club's younger stars, Arteta added: "In our case we have five games in 15 days, we don't know how the players will respond physically. We will use them. We have some really talented young boys.
"They're asking for chances and I'm sure all the clubs will be the same. At some stage we'll be forced to use some of them with the amount of games we'll be playing."
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