Martin Keown has hailed Arsenal prodigy Marquinhos and claimed that the Brazilian winger plays "like Bukayo Saka ".
The £3million capture of Marquinhos didn't exactly set pulses racing at the Emirates Stadium earlier this summer, with the 19-year-old tipped as a signing for the future - but that hasn't prevented the talented teenager from making a sizeable early impression.
Marquinhos has caught the eye in the Europa League for Arsenal and netted just 12 minutes into his Gunners bow against FC Zurich last month. The former Sao Paulo man then teed up Eddie Nketiah for the winning goal to cap a dream debut.
That performance has helped to propel Marquinhos into Mikel Arteta's first-team plans and he has been a regular on the bench for Arsenal in the Premier League this term. He did, however, drop out of the Gunners team for Thursday night's 1-0 victory over FK Bodo/Glimt after starting both of the club's previous Europa League ties.
The youngster struggled to make an impact after being thrust into the action for the final 20 minutes in Norway, but he still won plenty of praise from Keown, who saw shades of Saka in Marquinhos' debut performance.
Keown told BT Sport prior to the match: “The other players that are not actually playing at the weekends can implement the same ideas and copy, really. It’s all being moulded in the same way. That’s really been impressive.
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“Marquinhos is not playing tonight but he played in that very first game in Europe exceptionally well. It was like Saka in that position, it’s almost a copycat performance. That’s what you’re really looking for.”
Keown had already expressed how excited he was to watch Marquinhos develop in the coming years following his excellent debut - and the former Arsenal stalwart even compared the talented youngster to another ex-Gunner in the form of Serge Gnabry.
"He’s got a huge future ahead of him," Keown said in the aftermath of Marquinhos' captivating performance against FC Zurich. "That’s a real opportunity now ahead of him. Bukayo Saka is only a couple of years older himself, but such is the quality he’s going to get chances.
"He looked a bit like a Gnabry type player. He’s short, stocky, explosive pace. He looked very classy. He picked and chose his moments cleverly, whipped a couple of crosses in. Really good quality. He kept on producing."
Saka has quickly established himself as the club's talisman, but the 21-year-old first rose to prominence in the Europa League. Keown believes that Marquinhos could also flourish on Thursday nights if he continues to receive first-team opportunities.
He added: "I think it’s great news. We’ve seen Saka, we’ve seen [Emile] Smith Rowe in this very competition start their careers. I think we’re seeing another star here in the making."
