Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on young Arsenal star Marquinhos.
Fans were left hungry for more of the Brazilian teenager after his match-winning display at FC Zurich last week, which followed a run of three goals in three games for the Gunners’ Under-21s side.
“We want to build the steps and when we have asked him to play with the U21s he’s done incredibly well,” he told reporters.
“The attitude with every coach and player has been seen as ‘it can’t be any better’. That’s what we expect from the players so that’s why he got his chance against Zurich and he might get another chance very soon.”
Marquinhos may have featured in the Europa League clash with PSV Eindhoven in the week, had it not been postponed, and he will hope to make the bench for the fourth Premier League game in a row at Brentford on Sunday.
Arteta has found no issues with bringing the attacker over to England from Sao Paulo for a small fee in the summer, as he has comfortably slotted into the Arsenal setup.
“I was looking more at the faces of the rest of the staff and players [when he scored],” he added.
“He’s very popular, with no English, just with his smile and attitude. He has earned the respect and admiration of everybody here.
“It was a big step for him because he hasn’t played enough minutes with us but we were willing to give him the opportunity. I think he deserved it, I think he took it really well and he’s a player that needs to keep developing and in order to do that we need to give him opportunities.”
