Martin Keown says he told Arsenal to sign Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw when the Englishman was just 16 years old.

Shaw has had a fairly torrid few years after his leg break back in 2015, particularly since Jose Mourinho took over the club.

This season he finally looks to be finding some form, putting in a couple of good performances for his club, and scoring against Leicester City. All that’s led to a call up for the England squad for the first time since March 2017.

With just a year left on his United contract, there will certainly be a lot of speculation about Shaw’s next move if he doesn’t sign an extension soon. Arsenal could well be in the market for him, but former Gunner Keown says he told them to sign the left-back seven years ago.

“I first watched him as a 16-year-old playing on a training pitch for Southampton against Reading,” Keown recalled. “In the first 10 seconds, he whipped a ball across the box with such power and precision that I just thought, ‘Wow’.

“I was standing next to an Arsenal scout and I immediately said, ‘You’ve got to sign him’. Rarely had I seen a 16-year-old play with such certainty. In recent years he lost that from his game but it is coming back. This summer Jose Mourinho has given him his support and as a result Shaw has flourished.”

Shaw could definitely benefit from a manager who has a little more faith in him. Mourinho is on his side for now, but it only tends to take one bad performance for his support to evaporate.

We’ll see how the year goes, but if the 23-year-old is available on a free transfer next summer, I’d expect Arsenal to show an interest.