“It was a big step” – Mikel Arteta claims Arsenal youngster has earned the respect of everyone at the club
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hailed youngster Marquinhos and has claimed that the young Brazilian has become a popular figure at the club.The 19-year-old winger joined the Gunners this summer from Brazilian side Sao Paulo and had a debut to be remembered.
The teenager was instrumental in the Gunners’ 2-1 win over FC Zurich away in the UEFA Europa League opener on September 8. He scored the opener and assisted Eddie Nketiah for the winner.Prior to his senior debut for the north Londoners, the Brazilian under-17 international made three appearances for the club’s under-23s.He made a solid impression in the Premier League 2, scoring thrice and assisting once. This earned him his senior debut and he took the chance with both hands.Arteta has praised the youngster and claimed that he is already very popular at Arsenal for his attitude and willingness to learn.However, the Gunners boss has claimed that the winger has a lot to learn and also has a language barrier to overcome. Arteta said, as quoted by Arseblog:
“I was looking more at the faces of the rest of the staff and players [when he scored on Thursday]. He’s a player that is very popular with no English, just with his smile and the attitude he has. He’s earned the respect and admiration of everybody here.”
He added:
“It was a big step because he hasn’t played enough minutes with us, 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. In order to do that, we have to give him minutes and opportunities.”
