"Very classy" - Arsenal legend full of praise for player with 'huge future' after Europa League win
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown lauded winger Marquinhos for his performance in their UEFA Europa League win over FC Zurich on Thursday, September 8.
The Gunners dominated their first continental game of the season in style, beating FC Zurich 2-1 away in the Europa League group stage. While Mikel Arteta's complete squad generally impressed, Keown praised Marquinhos, who just joined the north London outfit in the summer.
19-year-old Marquinhos was emotional after scoring on his Arsenal debut 🥺❤️ https://t.co/lygqlBVlzj
The youngster played brilliantly for Arsenal, guiding Arteta's men with a goal and an assist to snatch all three points.
He made four key passes, delivered three accurate crosses and also made two interceptions.
Keown spoke admirably about the 19-year-old, telling BT Sport (via TBR):
“Some great performances on show, Marquinhos, he looks like a take-two of Saka, doesn’t he. Left-footed player, plays on that right wing. One assist, one goal, really, that’s a real plus for the manager because he can look upon him now and say, ‘okay, we can bring you in if we need him'."
He added:
“He’s got a huge future ahead of him. He looked like a Gnabry-type player, short, stocky, really explosive pace. And he was very classy.”
Marquinhos scores on his Arsenal debut 🤩 https://t.co/u6rVVI93Ik
The young winger was the clear star of the game as he scored the opening goal before providing an assist to Edward Nketiah for the winning goal.
Marquinhos will hope he can continue to impress for Arsenal, with the club's legends taking notice of the youngster and hailing his performances.
Arsenal beat FC Zurich 2-1
Arsenal came out 2-1 winners in their opening Europa league fixture of the season against Swiss side FC Zurich. In a fixture that saw Granit Xhaka return to his native Switzerland, it was Marquinhos and Eddie Nketiah who made the difference on the night.
The Gunners brought in young wideman Marquinhos this summer from Sao Paulo. The youngster repaid their faith with a goal in his first ever European fixture.
The Brazilian gave the Gunners the lead after 17 minutes, with Nketiah turning provider.
Zurich pegged the Gunners back, with the home side finding the equalizer in the 44th minute to send both teams into the break tied. Nketiah brought down Fidan Ailiti in the box and Mirlind Kryeziu converted the resulting penalty.
Arsenal, however, took the victory at the end of the match, with Nketiah making amends for the penalty he gave away with his 62nd minute goal. Marquinhos found the Englishman with a cross and the striker duly converted the chance.
The Gunners will hope they can go on to win the competition as they look to lift their first European trophy since 1994. Zurich will hope that they can remedy the loss quickly in their upcoming fixtures if they are to remain in the competition.