Mikel Arteta responds to Ethan Nwaneri being compared to Lionel Messi as ex-Chelsea and Liverpool star hails 'beautiful' Arsenal teenager following Leicester display

The 17-year-old bagged an assist and put in an eye-catching performance in Arsenal's 2-0 win at Leicester on Saturday; prompting ex-Chelsea and Liverpool man Joe Cole to compare him to Messi, no less. But manager Arteta seemed to downplay such talk after the victory.

Cole said on Nwaneri on TNT Sports: "These little touches in and around the box - I don't even want to say it, but it's like Lionel Messi. I don't want to put any more pressure on him, but the touches off the back foot entices the defender, then the touch off the toe to send him off balance. He plays with such confidence, a beautiful player. Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have to protect him, they would have liked him to only play 60, 70 minutes today."

And then in Arteta's post-match press conference, he responded to those Messi comparisons by saying: "Let him play. He's a massive threat, a massive talent."

Inter Miami star Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time so comparing him to Arsenal's teenager Nwaneri may not be the smartest move. He is certainly a big talent but it seems the Gunners are not getting carried away by his progress as they close to within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Nwaneri will hope to star for Arsenal again when they host London neighbours West Ham in the Premier League next weekend.