Arsenal now told they have a prospect who is 'out of this world' good

Fulham youngster Georgios Okkas has said that Arsenal youngster Charlie Patino is one of the best players he’s ever played against.

In an interview with London World, Okkas was asked about the best players he’s ever faced.

The Cypriot youth international said: “I’d say Xavi Simons from PSV.

“We played against them [Netherlands] at international level with Cyprus.

“Omari Hutchinson is good, plus Charlie Patino whose quality is out of this world. Technically, wow.”

It’s high praise indeed for a player that has a huge amount of potential.

Patino has spent the season on loan at Championship side Blackpool, and has been a regular in their midfield.

In a recent game against QPR he brought ‘quality and composure’ during a 6-1 win.

Mick McCarthy admitted he’s had to play Patino a lot more than he ever planned to, which is a big compliment to the youngster.

Patino’s future has been sorted for now, after Arsenal triggered an extension in his contract a few months ago.

However, it’s likely that Arsenal will want to keep Patino for a lot longer, and Okkas’s praise is no surprise given his ability.

Okkas says Arsenal youngster Patino is ‘out of this world’

Journalist Tom Canton has suggested that Patino is the most likely youngster to be promoted to the first-team next season.

He’s potentially already outgrown the Championship, and Arsenal are looking for a new central midfielder.

Declan Rice and Romeo Lavia are among the potential candidates Mikel Arteta is looking to bring in.

If he wanted to concentrate his funds elsewhere, Patino may be the worth promoting to the senior side.

He would slot into the side well in Granit Xhaka’s role, although he has shown his defensive strength at Blackpool.

Okkas won’t be the last person to say that Patino is one of the toughest opponents he’s come up against at Arsenal.

The England under-20 international looks more likely to go out on loan again next season than slot into the Arsenal squad.

Whether that’s at a Premier League side, or somewhere abroad is yet to be seen.