Charlie Patino has already caused quite the stir among Arsenal fans despite completing just two brief appearances in which he did not play the full 90 minutes in either.
The midfielder has long been touted as one of the most exciting prospects to emerge from Arsenal's famed Hale-End academy in a long time and announced himself to the Gunners faithful with a debut goal during December's 5-1 rout over Sunderland in the Carabao Cup. Patino's name was being chanted from the Emirates terraces before the teenager had even kicked a ball for the senior side.
The clamour for manager Mikel Arteta to play Patino started long before he eventually got his debut, with his performances for the U-18's and U-23's side enough to spark calls for a place in the first-team. The Gunners boss stood firm until the festive period when the visit of the Black Cats provided the perfect opportunity to blood Patino in.
Patino's first and Arsenal's fifth of the night placed him in the history books as the nine-youngest goal-scorer in the club's history, seven places below Arsenal's most famous academy graduate Jack Wilshere. It has since been revealed that a figure of the club's past has been dishing out advice to one tipped to have a big future as Patino recalled an interaction with the former England international.
Prior to his recent switch to Danish side AGF Aarhus, Wilshere spent some time back at London Colney training with Arsenal's current stars. It was then when Patino got the chance to watch back what he described as the "best individual performance" he's ever seen with the main who delivered it.
The pair analysed Wilshere's remarkable Champions League showing against Barcelona back in 2011, with Patino telling Goal: "We watched that game together, Jack dominated against the likes of [Sergio] Busquets, Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta, so it was really good to watch it with him.
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"We talked about the game and went through his highlights. He showed me things he does in a game that I may not do. It was an interesting chat. Being close to Jack while he was working at Arsenal was great. Having him around the building was massive for the youth players and a lot of people grabbed information from him."
Patino also took the time to discuss two players who have made the step up from academy football to senior-level more recently in Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka - both with huge success given they currently share the status of Arsenal's top-scorer this term.
"Bukayo and Emile are obviously very talented players, but I think what also separates them from a lot of other talented players who have come through is their attitude, their mindset and how humble they are. That's credit to their work ethic and what they do every day."
