Abou Diaby's rangy frame and African-French background invited comparisons with Patrick Vieira from the moment he arrived at Arsenal in 2006.
It seemed unfair and unrealistic to burden a 20-year-old in such a heady manner.
But his displays this season have shown the similarities may not be just the fanciful hope of Gunners supporters still longing for their former captain and the talisman of their trophy-laden era.
Had it not been for Cesc Fabregas's majestic 27-minute performance, Diaby would have been man-of-the-match against Aston Villa on Sunday.
He was tenacious in the tackle and eager to support an attack that floundered, evidenced by a superb solo effort for Arsenal's final goal in the handsome 3-0 win.
It was Diaby's sixth of the season and second in successive games. Coupled with Fabregas taking his tally to 10 - just three short of a career-best 13 achieved in the 2007-08 campaign - it is something Arsene Wenger has welcomed.
"In this [midfield] shape that we have, Diaby and Fabregas can score goals," said the manager. "You have not one, but two who come from a deep position and can score goals.
"Diaby looks very good. Since the beginning of the season, I have always played him and he is growing in stature. He's dominant in the fight and he scores goals."
With Fabregas out for three weeks with the hamstring strain suffered against Villa, Wenger will want Diaby to lead in midfield against bottom club Portsmouth tonight and demonstrate a level of consistency that marked his idol, Vieira, out as a great player.
But the Arsenal manager has another commander to call upon in Thomas Vermaelen.
The Belgian centre-back made a goalscoring impact early on, but has since quietly and efficiently gone about his business in a defence that has kept three clean sheets in the last five games.
"He's a very quiet boy, but very determined," added Wenger. "He has a good mix of commitment and focus, and he's relaxed.
"That's important when you play at the back. He never panics and panic is contagious. We look solid at the back and there's a good understanding between Thomas and William Gallas. It's given us a good foundation."
Arsenal will need that to continue at Fratton Park in a game Wenger does not want his third-placed side to take for granted as they bid to close the gap on leaders Chelsea.
The Gunners dropped two points at Burnley on their last away trip . "I think Portsmouth are in a more difficult situation than Burnley," said Wenger.
"I watched them beat Liverpool and it's a difficult place to go. You need to come up with a top performance."
Having beaten Burnley and Liverpool, Portsmouth need to complete a hat-trick of home wins to strengthen their belief in the relegation battle.
"We've got to make use of our home form and make Fratton a fortress," said the goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic. "We know we can give anybody a game at home. We've got to take the game to Arsenal and be positive."
@Email:akhan@thenational.ae
Portsmouth v Arsenal, KO 11.45pm, Showsports 2
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
ARGYLLE
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, John Cena
Rating: 3/5
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
The Continental: From the World of John Wick
Created by: Greg Coolidge, Shawn Simmons, Kirk Ward
Stars: Mel Gibson, Colin Woodell, Mishel Prada
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
RESULT
RS Leipzig 3
Marcel Sabitzer 10', 21'
Emil Forsberg 87'
Tottenham 0
The specs
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Power: 252 brake horsepower
Torque: 352Nm
Price: from Dh146,700
On sale: now
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Founder: Hani Abu Ghazaleh
Based: Abu Dhabi, with an office in Montreal
Founded: 2018
Sector: Virtual Reality
Investment raised: $1.2 million, and nearing close of $5 million new funding round
Number of employees: 12
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and +94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)