Mikel Arteta singled out Riccardo Calafiori for praise after Arsenal's convincing win over West Ham, describing the defender as a unique and disruptive presence in his tactical system.
The Italy international, who arrived from Bologna in a £31 million ($41m) deal, played a highly advanced role at left-back, frequently stepping into midfield to dictate play and even drifting over to the right-hand side.
It was another energetic performance from a player who has been one of the Gunners' most consistent starters this season.
Arteta acknowledged that Calafiori's style can appear unpredictable, but insisted that his energy and movement make him a nightmare for opposing teams.
"A lot of dynamism, sometimes a bit chaotic, but the spaces and situations that he can create are very difficult to control for the opponent," Arteta told Arsenal Media.
"You have to disrupt their organisation in order to create chances and I think we did that really well [against West Ham]."
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Calafiori endured a stop-start first season in England due to injury setbacks but has turned things around impressively.
He already has a goal and two assists in the Premier League and has firmly established himself ahead of youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly, who made a breakthrough last term but has been limited to cameos so far this year.
While Calafiori earned his manager's admiration, Bukayo Saka also made headlines after playing through discomfort to score in the win.
The 24-year-old has been hampered by knocks in recent weeks but dismissed concerns about his fitness with a typically resilient response.
"It's part of it. I have blood on my hand, my nose is bleeding, my shorts are all blood, then after they say that I’m limping," he said.
"You have a choice: do you get on with it or do you go down? I always make the choice to continue."
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