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Eberechi Eze's showmanship draws inspiration from Brazilian legend Ronaldinho, as the new Arsenal man revealed he would dedicate countless hours to watching footage of the trickster.
The Gunners snapped up former Crystal Palace star Eze ahead of north London rivals Tottenham during the summer transfer window, agreeing a four-year contract after he had established himself as one of the top flight's most exciting attacking prospects.
Arsenal's £67.5million signing made his first appearance for the club in their 1-0 defeat against Liverpool, though he only played 20 minutes as a substitute.
Mikel Arteta may grant him his maiden start on Saturday when they welcome Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, with the Emirates set to witness a performer whose flair and ambition to captivate supporters originates from his relentless viewing of the iconic Ronaldinho.
Speaking to Crystal Palace's club website in 2021, Eze revealed: "We'd come home from school or whatever we were doing, go on the computer and just type in 'Ronaldinho.' Any video we saw, whether it be him playing football or doing whatever, we just watched it.
"There's probably no video you could show us that we hadn't seen before. Even now, I type in 'Ronaldinho' and still watch him. That's how much of an impact he's had on me."
Yet it wasn't solely Ronaldinho's brilliance that motivated Eze to dazzle audiences. He subsequently confessed that a certain Gunners icon was another figure he admired during his formative years, reports the Mirror.
"[Thierry] Henry was number one. Henry and Ronaldinho. Those were the two on YouTube you were watching," Eze confessed, in a conversation with Sign Up - Into Football earlier this year.
"These are the guys you grow up watching. They enjoy what they're doing, they love what they're doing, they have a passion for it, and that inspires. I feel like those have been the guys that I've looked up to for as long as I remember."
Eze is now set to carve out his own legacy in north London, and a revelation made in May, just prior to his goal steering Palace to an unexpected FA Cup victory, offers fans a sneak peek of what's to come.
"It's easy to lose sight of, especially (with) the type of player I am, why I'm doing what I'm doing," Eze shared with BBC Sport ahead of the FA Cup final.
"Why do I run with the ball? Why do I try things? Why am I creative? Why do I do things that maybe players wouldn't think to do?" he questioned.
"The reason is for the people who are watching. It's what you're doing to people in the stands and how you can get people off their feet.
"That's what football's about. It feels like football is starting to shift a bit. There's maybe not as much of that, but as long as I play, that's all I want to do."
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