Wenger hails Barkley potential ahead of weekend clash

Posted Saturday, October 24, 2015 by squawka.com

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has paid tribute to Everton's young star Ross Barkley, ahead of the two side's meeting at the Emirates on Saturday.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has risen through the ranks at Goodison Park, to become key player for Roberto Martinez's team over the last few seasons, while his form has also resulted in him being regularly included in Roy Hodgson's England squad.

Ross Barkley has hit the target with half of his 18 efforts on goal this season

His powerful style of play, as alluded to by Wenger, allied with his development at Everton, have resulted in inevitable comparisons with another former Blue Wayne Rooney, and Barkley would do well to emulate the Manchester United’s career achievements. He is however, widely-regarded as one of England's brightest young talents and has been tipped to make a big impact at Euro 2016 next summer.

Following a tough campaign last time out, Barkley has been back to his best so far this season, playing a starring role for his boyhood club by providing two goals and three assists in his nine league matches, while thriving partnership in the final third with Romelu Lukaku could cause problems for the Arsenal defence on Saturday.

Barkley has won 51% of his duels this term

Although the Toffees have been much improved in the opening weeks of the 2015-16 campaign, they did suffer a 3-0 reverse at home to Manchester United last weekend and they face a tough challenge to beat an Arsenal team buoyed by an outstanding 2-0 win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday.