Arsenal deserve huge praise for the way in which they returned to the apex of English football, putting their trust in Mikel Arteta and remaining with him through the good times and the bad.

It is a method that has been so successful that clubs such as Everton, Aston Villa and even Chelsea sought to emulate it, placing their faith in a younger coach to lead them into the future. However, given that Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Graham Potter have now all been dismissed, it is clear that the Gunners invested wisely in their young tactician.

The Spaniard has retained the glorious free-flowing play style that the Emirates had become accustomed to, but finally harnessed some of the solid players to remove the weakness that often plagued the club.

Despite only finishing second, this has been a campaign of rapid progression.

Now, in an attempt to stride into this summer window and acquire more players in this steely yet silky mould, Hakan Calhanoglu has emerged as an outstanding option for Edu. His tireless work rate is paired with unparalleled creativity, making his €40m (£34m) valuation a seemingly fair price.

How good is Hakan Calhanoglu?

The Turkey international's key assets could see the Gunners replicate Manchester United's success with Christian Eriksen, having converted the former number ten into more of a number eight, with his defensive assets called into action.

It did not take long for the 31-year-old to prove his worth, with his debut year in Old Trafford seeing him maintain an 85% pass accuracy, 1.3 key passes and 1.8 duels won per game, via Sofascore. The injection of 12 goal contributions from deep is an added benefit too.

Meanwhile, for Inter Milan, the 29-year-old has maintained a 7.31 average rating this term, bolstered by his 2.2 key passes, 1.4 tackles and 2.9 duels won per game, via Sofascore.

Just last season also saw him record 21 goal contributions of his own, showcasing how these former attacking midfielders have moulded their styles to adapt to the modern game, without losing that touch of offensive class.

FBref serves to support this comparison too, with Eriksen featured among the former AC Milan gem's similar players list.

The latter's tireless nature is further emphasised through the words of his former coach Stefano Piolo, who claimed: "A lot of the credit goes to him, he’s a generous player with high quality, he works for the team."

Clearly a big fan of the Turkish trickster, on a separate occasion he also branded the £155k-per-week star a "leader on the pitch and "an intelligent player".

Calhanoglu clearly has all the assets needed to shine in the engine room, and when partnered with the defensive exploits of Thomas Partey, or even Declan Rice should recent reports come true, his career could reach new heights as Arteta seeks to push even closer to that coveted Premier League title.