Gabriel Martinelli is clearly in favour of Arsenal's transfer pursuit of right-back Djed Spence according to his recent comments on what it was like to play against the defender.
The Brazilian has slowly been reintegrated into the first team fold in north London this season after a serious knee injury scuppered the majority of last term for the 20-year-old.
He found form at the perfect time as Martinelli started to really influence games from an attacking sense while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been exiled from the side.
The former Arsenal captain has since left the club and sought a new challenge at La Liga giants Barcelona, leaving Martinelli with even more responsibility in what is an incredibly young side.
HAVE YOUR SAY! How many goals will Martinelli get by the end of this season? Comment below
Arsenal's Brazilian winger has seen his best form come in the league, while the Gunners have now been dumped out of both cup competitions.
The FA Cup elimination was more worrying given it came at the home of Championship outfit Nottingham Forest on an evening that saw Martinelli barely get a kick.
Despite this, it came as somewhat of a surprise when Martinelli identified his opponent from that game as his toughest counterpart to date.
Speaking to the Athletic, the former Ituano forward was asked for his toughest test to date, to which he said: "Actually the guy from Nottingham Forest, Djed Spence, who I played against in the FA Cup.
"He is very strong, good on the ball, calm and quick. I was surprised; he is a really good player."
In response to Spence's showing against Arsenal, club legend Ian Wright declared Ian Wright that he had not seen "a combative, technical, swashbuckling performance like that for a very long time."
The Gunners have reportedly been keeping tabs on Spence ever since that game, with the right-back impressing in the very next round.
Forest welcomed another Premier league opponent to the City ground in Leicester City only to make even lighter work of them than they did of Arsenal.
Steve Cooper's side ran riot against the Foxes and triumphed 4-1, with Spence notching the hosts' fourth goal of the game.
There is currently an ongoing tug of war over Spence's international prospects given the defender is eligible for both England and Jamaica.
Should he favour the Three Lions, there is every chance he is selected for the upcoming Under-21 Euro qualifiers against Andorra and Albania.
If Arsenal want to snap up Spence's signature in the summer, they'll have to fend off interest from north London rivals Tottenham who are also interested.
