‘I love this player’: Rio Ferdinand lauds Arsenal star after Leicester win

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Rio Ferdinand has told his YouTube channel that Arsenal produced one of their best first-half performances against Leicester at the weekend, while he lauded Emile Smith Rowe as a player that he absolutely loves.

The Gunners have continued their ascent up the Premier League table. They now sit sixth after beating the Foxes 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.

Significantly, they have not lost any of their last seven in the top-flight. And that run looked destined to continue within 18 minutes of kick-off on Saturday.

Bukayo Saka’s corner was nodded in by Gabriel Magalhaes for the opener. And Smith Rowe reacted quickest to smash home the second after Alexandre Lacazette had attempted to dance through the challenges in the box shortly after.

Smith Rowe now has three for the season in the Premier League. Remarkably, he has already eclipsed his tally from last term in half the number of starts.

And Ferdinand suggested that he always gets excited whenever Smith Rowe or Saka get onto the ball with Arsenal in their current form.

“It was one of the best performances I’d seen in that first-half,” he told his YouTube channel. “There was an element of control about it for the first 25, 30 minutes. Emile Smith Rowe, I love this player.

“My two favourite players are Saka and Emile Smith Rowe in that team,” he went on to add. “Every time the ball goes to Saka, I think something could happen. Same with Emile Smith Rowe.”

Smith Rowe and Saka set to inspire Arsenal back towards greatness on current trajectory

There are 12 players within Mikel Arteta’s squad who have featured seven or more times in the Premier League this season.

Of those, nine are 24 or younger. The youngest meanwhile, are Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.

It is scary to think about how good they already are in relation to their age.

The pair were shining lights in a poor year last season. This time around, they are threatening to take the club a further step closer towards something very special.