"He's incredible... he's incredible. Two touches, head tennis, he's so good, so so good," Kyle Walker explained in a recent interview.
Most would assume the Manchester City star is talking about one of the big-hitters at the Etihad, whether that be Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva, but in actual fact the subject of his praise was now- Arsenal man Oleksandr Zinchenko. The left-back spent five years under City boss Pep Guardiola before upping sticks to the Emirates, but City can't say that weren't warned against parting ways.
The Ukranian international has endured a turbulent time of it since the turn of the calendar year following Russia's devastating invasion of his home country. Zinchenko has struggled to contain his emotion at times while those in his homeland suffer at the hands of Russian aggression, often fighting back tears during post-match interviews.
He donned the armband for his country as they tried admirably to qualify for the Qatar World Cup amid such hardship, with Zinchenko guiding Ukraine to the final play-off qualifier before falling short via a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wales in Cardiff.
That ability to stand up and be counted, to lead in incredibly difficult conditions are the kind of attributes that made Zinchenko such an attractive proposition for Arsenal and also made Gary Neville's assessment of him on the eve of his Emirates arrival all the more questionable.
“On the pitch in difficult moments who in that team (is going to get Arsenal over the line)?” asked Neville on The Overlap. "I have watched Zinchenko. He’s not a leader.
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"I love him to bits. He’s not a leader on the pitch. Is he going to in the difficult moments of the season be able to pull it all together? He might do."
So far, so good in that respect. Zinchenko has arguably proved the best of the five signings Arsenal made in the summer. While his former City colleague Gabriel Jesus has taken plenty of the plaudits, the left-back has helped completely revitalise the way the Gunners play.
The technical security now offered by Zinchenko's presence on the pitch calms the rest of the side, so reliable in possession, the 25-year-old has offered so much in an attacking sense.
That is likely to be in large part down to his past experience of operating as a playmaker during his time in the Shakhtar Donetsk youth set-up. It also brings the best out of much-maligned midfielder Granit Xhaka, who has played some of his best football in an Arsenal shirt since Zinchenko was integrated into the fold.
With the security blanket Zinchenko's inverted role offers Xhaka, the Switzerland international has more license to roam forward than he ever has at any other time in his Gunners career.
Zinchenko's ability to thrive in more central spaces has given Arteta the chance to deploy an inverted attacking left-back, something he has long been waiting to do but felt Kieran Tierney wasn't quite up to the task.
He has quickly earned himself a place in the hearts of the Arsenal faithful, but not all of that has been down to his performances on the pitch. The Gunners fanbase have long wanted to see some of their players conduct themselves with a similar kind of passion to their own and Zinchenko has certainly done that.
Missing out on the dramatic 2-1 home win over Fulham last month through injury, the ex-City star still took his place on the bench and was nearly taken out by a steward who thought he was a fan during his rapid sprint down the touchline to celebrate with his teammates.
While it is still early days and just how well Zinchenko's Arsenal career has started may surprise some, Arteta's time as Pep Guardiola's assistant at the Etihad means in the eyes of the Spaniard this is not so much a shock and more all part of the plan.
