Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Marquinhos: ‘Very classy’ debut Arsenal scorer compared to high-profile attacker whose exit became a regret

Marquinhos playing for Arsenal

Marquinhos has been compared to a former talent who never flourished at Arsenal but has elsewhere after his debut goal for the club on Thursday.

Arsenal got off to a winning start in their Europa League group with a 2-1 triumph over Swiss side FC Zurich on Thursday. On his first appearance for the club, it only took Marquinhos 16 minutes to get his first goal.

The winger, who joined from Sao Paulo in the summer, opened his account by converting a cross from Eddie Nketiah first time.

FC Zurich went on to equalise via a Mirlind Kryeziu penalty just before half time. However, Nketiah himself restored Arsenal’s lead with what turned out to be the winning goal in the second half, just beyond the hour mark.

Within the next 10 minutes, Marquinhos was taken off to be replaced by Bukayo Saka, bringing an end to his debut for the club. It certainly seemed to have been a productive one.

At the age of 19, there could be many more impactful appearances ahead for Marquinhos, even if he will have to work harder to become a regular starter in Mikel Arteta’s side.

But pundits were impressed by what he showed on his first outing for his new club. For example, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown pointed to the ‘huge future’ Marquinhos has ahead of him after analysing his goal.

Keown said on BT Sport‘s coverage on Thursday: “It’s the confidence. We talked about having that class in possession. I saw lots of that tonight from Marquinhos.

“Look at that pass from Fabio Vieira, great ball into the channel, we talked about Nketiah and his movement, and then a great pass off his weaker foot.

“And then the finish! The ball just lifts before it comes into him and it’s a wonderful finish from him.

“The first of many, hopefully. He’s got a huge future ahead of him.

“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.”

Keown suggests Marquinhos could imitate Serge Gnabry

Continuing his analysis, the pundit compared Marquinhos to a player Arsenal know well but never saw the best of – Serge Gnabry.

The German winger has done much better for Bayern Munich than he managed for Arsenal. But from his early assessments, Keown can see similarities in their styles.

With that in mind, Arsenal will be hoping to enjoy Marquinhos for themselves in the years to come.

Keown continued: “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.

“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.”

Arsenal’s next Europa League match is scheduled to be on September 15, at home to PSV Eindhoven.

READ MOREIan Wright suggests Arsenal could re-sign former midfielder, as ‘unbelievable’ trait pointed out