What Djed Spence said ahead of Desire Doue masterclass as Arsenal sent Champions League warning

Desire Doue proved to be a pivotal figure on Wednesday evening as PSG claimed a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. His outstanding performance in the French capital perhaps didn't come as a shock to many, especially full-back .

Spence and Doue were previously teammates at Rennes during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign. After struggling to force his way into Tottenham plans immediately after joining from Middlesbrough, .

That's where Spence came across Doue, with the duo going on to play together in nine of the Tottenham man's 10 games for the Ligue 1 outfit. The pair even joined forces down Rennes' right flank on a couple of occasions, including in a memorable 2-0 win at PSG at a time when the Parisians had a certain Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in their XI.

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Speaking on the last month, Spence actually namechecked Doue when talking about some of the best players he has played with during his career. It's clear to see that the 24-year-old does rate the teenager extremely highly after labelling him as "generational" and even comparing him to Neymar.

"He's generational. He reminds me of Neymar… [He’s] Neymar-esque, a regen," revealed Spence.

"When I trained with him at Rennes, I thought, 'Who’s this guy? How old is he?' At the time he was 17. I was like, 'Yeah, this guy is is going to be something crazy.' And he's doing it now at Paris Saint-Germain."

Doue is indeed wowing for PSG, with the 19-year-old contributing 12 goals and 12 assists in 43 appearances since joining Luis Enrique's side in the summer for an initial €50million (£42.9million). .

The Angers-born player demonstrated against Aston Villa on Wednesday evening that he has a huge future ahead of him in the game. Trailing 1-0 following Morgan Rogers' opener, Doue restored parity in the 39th minute with a stunning effort that left Emi Martinez with no chance in the Villa goal.

The attacker cut inside from the left and unleashed an unstoppable effort from the edge of the area that kissed the crossbar and hit the back of the net. It proved to be a key moment in the contest as PSG went on to add a further two goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes.

are famed for their notorious player ratings but Doue top scored on the night with a mark of 8/10. , Doue will be in north London in May for a semi-final showdown against the Gunners.

If that is indeed the case, Mikel Arteta's men will have to be very wary of the French ace in Enrique's eye-catching PSG team. Spence already knew about the quality of "generational" Doue and now most of Europe do too after his Champions League heroics against Aston Villa.

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