Former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has delivered his verdict on Gunners youngster Joe Willock.
Willock made his first Premier League start of the season against Leeds United on Sunday as Mikel Arteta's men battled to a goalless draw despite losing Nicolas Pepe to a red card just six minutes into the second half.
The 21-year-old had already featured three times in the Europa League this season, doing enough to impress both manager Arteta and former Gunners midfielder Ljungberg.
Speaking as a guest on Sky Sports, the Swede praised Willock, saying: "I rate him very highly. As a young player, he has a lot to learn, but he needs to play games to rectify those small mistakes he makes within the game.
"If you use him as a box-to-box, he comes late into the box, he will score goals and he’s just as quick as [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang when he opens up his legs.”
Arteta actually spoke about just how impressed he has been with Willock in the lead up to the Leeds game.
“I mentioned with Joe that I’ve been really impressed with him, the way he’s handled the situation of not having much game time in the Premier League," said the Gunners boss in his pre-match press conference.
“I haven’t seen him train like he’s done in the last five or six weeks under difficult circumstances.
“I think the reflection of that is the way he’s playing in the Europa League when he’s had the minutes, or the Carabao Cup in this case."
Willock is the latest Arsenal academy graduate to make it into the first team, remarkably joining the club at the age of four-and-a-half when he was allowed to play alongside his older brothers.
