Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville lavished Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Eric Dier with praise following Spurs' 2-0 victory over north London rivals Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
After being replaced at the top of the Premier League table by Chelsea on Saturday evening, Spurs returned to the summit thanks to goals from Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, as they made light work of a struggling Gunners side.
As well as the goals from Son and Kane, who continue to strike fear into opponents' defences, sealing another win, the victory over Arsenal marked a fourth clean sheet in a row in the Premier League, taking their tally for the season to five.
And it is fair to say that Dier has played an instrumental role in that, with the England international becoming one of Jose Mourinho's most important players.
Though Dier has spent the majority of his Tottenham career playing in central-midfield, Mourinho has transformed him into a calm, confident centre-back, striking up a strong partnership with Toby Alderweireld in the heart of the back-four this season.
And for Neville, following the win over the Gunners, Dier's improvements as a centre-back are getting better and better, with the former England right-back outlining his qualities.
“Really well. He’s stepping up, he’s getting more confident by the week," Neville told Sky Sports. "I think he said at the start of the season that he wanted to play centre-back, he had enough of being shifted around.
"He’s got pace, he’s a good leader, a good character, he’s good on the ball and he’s defending really well."
So far this season, Mourinho has opted for a flat back-four with natural full-backs on either side of the centre-backs.
Nowadays, more and more clubs are adopting an approach with a back-three, which is something Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has experimented with at times this year.
For Neville, though, City's system would not suit Dier, with Guardiola's centre-back's often left exposed by the way City's midfielders join the forwards in attacking scenarios.
Neville continued: "He’s been helped by the system, let’s be clear. To play centre-back in this system is a lot easier than playing there for Manchester City.
"To play centre-back for Manchester City you’ve got to be one hell of a player in terms of defending one-vs-one.
"He’s never exposed, he’s cuddled by about five players there, Eric Dier - [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg, [Moussa] Sissoko, [Ben] Davies and Alderweireld.”
