Eberechi Eze has proven Jamie Carragher wrong since his move to Arsenal, the former Liverpool defender admits.
The Gunners star scored his first senior hat-trick to inspire his side to a 4-1 north London derby thrashing over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
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It comes after Spurs saw a deal to sign Eze from Crystal Palace in the summer hijacked by their bitter local rivals.
Arsenal swooped to secure his signature for £67.5million including add-ons back in August.
Eze's treble at the Emirates Stadium has taken his tally for the club to five goals and three assists in 16 appearances across all competitions.
Carragher was full of praise for the 27-year-old after the match as he assessed his performance live on Sky Sports.
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He admitted: "I must be honest, I think when Arsenal signed him and when I had my Liverpool hat on, and I looked at the signings Arsenal made.
"Beside Viktor Gyokeres, it felt like a lot of them were to strengthen the squad really.
"So where Arsenal had problems the year before was when (Bukayo) Saka was out, they bought (Noni) Madueke. (Martin) Odegaard was out, they bought Eze. One of the centre-backs was out so they got a couple of centre-backs.
"It was only really Gyokeres who I felt was going to go into the team. If I am being honest I think if (Kai) Havertz was one 100 per cent fit, Havertz would probably be the centre-forward in this team I think."
Carragher continued: "So, when Eze came in I thought, 'Okay, maybe he’s not a game-changer', and Les (Ferdinand) knows him a lot better than me and he still said earlier on in the show, 'there’s still a lot more to come'.
"But then we still see some of his highlights this season and there are a few great goals in there and then he goes and scores a hat-trick, so apologies.
Jamie Carragher apologises for underestimating Eberechi Eze
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Carragher is holding his hands up for underestimating Eze
"Certainly undervalued the importance that signing was because he looks like he could make a real difference for Arsenal this season and go on and win the title."
Arsenal are now six points clear at the top of the Premier League following their derby day victory.
Arteta on Eze signing
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta has revealed that he spoke to Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel before signing Eze.
Tuchel has included him in all four of his squads since taking charge in January.
Across that time, Eze has won seven caps and scored three goals for England.
Speaking to talkSPORT's Alex Crook after the match, Arteta explained: "When I spoke to Thomas TucheI, I said, ‘how good is he?’
Eberechi Eze takes a shot during Arsenal's win over Tottenham
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Arsenal were urged to sign Eze by England boss Tuchel, Arteta has revealedCredit: Getty
"He said to me, ‘one of the best I've seen. I rate him one of the best in terms of talent'.
"The willingness he has to play for this team and the joy I sense every single day when he's in the building, we have a special player there."
Eze's match-winning display comes ahead of a potentially crucial week in Arsenal's season.
They host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday before a trip to Chelsea next weekend.
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As well as topping the Premier League, they are one of three clubs to have won all four matches in Europe's premier competition this term.
It leaves them level with Bayern and Inter Milan, although the German champions top the league phase on goals scored.