Arsene Wenger has unfaltering belief that Arsenal's current crop of youngsters will soon develop to make the team a feared footballing force.
Carlos Vela provided a validation of that high praise with a goal of breathtaking quality to send the Gunners on their way to victory in a delayed FA Cup fifth round tie.
Eduardo then bettered that outstanding effort to confirm a quarter-final meeting with Hull City.
The gifted striking pair have often drawn comparisons because they play in a similar fashion. They have class in abundance too.
First came some Mexican magic in the 25th minute. Chris Eagles lost the ball weakly and Andrei Arshavin released Vela.
He embarrassed Clarke Carlisle with a cheeky nutmeg and then raced clear before finishing calmly with a sublime chip past the advancing Brian Jensen.
Eduardo, the older, experienced version of Vela, then followed his brilliance in the 51st minute with an outrageous goal, using the outside of his left foot to volley home after Alex Song had found him lurking inside the box. It was a flashback to the days of Dennis Bergkamp.
The Brazilian-born Croatia international was making his first appearance since a double against Cardiff in the last round, a dream comeback following a year out with a broken leg.
His fabulous follow-up to Vela's effort was the perfect one-two combination to leave Burnley on the ropes and Emmanuel Eboue delivered the knock-out blow in the 84th minute with a low drive, after Song's backheel.
Owen Coyle's side had claimed the scalps of five Premier League teams this season, including Chelsea and Arsenal in the Carling Cup. Kevin McDonald was the hero when Wenger's rough diamonds failed to sparkle in a 2-0 defeat back in December. But three months on, the young Gunners are wiser and better for that experience; determined to end a frustrating season on a high.
The margin of victory could and should have been wider, with Jensen, the Burnley keeper, denying Eboue and then Theo Walcott with good blocks.
Walcott could be forgiven for being a little rusty on his comeback following four months out with a shoulder injury, but he was too quick for the linesman, who wrongly flagged for offside when he broke swiftly to set up Robin van Persie near the end.
The England international's return could be crucial for the trip to Roma on Wednesday in the Champions League. With confidence, belief and goals, it is no wonder Wenger is smiling again.
"It is important to have competition and that we have the resources on the bench [like Walcott] to come on and score goals; that we are dangerous," he said. "It is good for us to go to Roma, knowing that we have done the job well. We scored three good goals. The first two were exceptional goals, but I liked the third one too, it was a good combination."
akhan@thenational.ae
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
