High Praise For Rodwell

Mikel Arteta and David Moyes have heaped praise on Jack Rodwell after the teenager notched his first goal for the Club on Sunday.

At 17 years and 341 days Rodwell became Everton's second youngest FA Cup scorer and the youngest to net at Goodison in the competition.

Rodwell's third-minute goal, a measured shot from a tight angle, set Everton on their way to an impressive 3-1 victory against Aston villa and Arteta said the youngster - and fellow teenager Dan Gosling - must take a large amount of the plaudits.

“We have to give them all the credit,” said Arteta. “We talk to them, we try to help them when they are on the pitch with us because we know they have got talent.

“When you have got talent, the rest will come. We have needed them to do it quickly and they have got to keep producing great performances.

“But they did that against Aston Villa and they also showed great character. Dan scored in the last round and now Jack has done.”

Speaking specifically about the goalscorer, Moyes went further, comparing Rodwell to a young Rio Ferdinand.

[Advert]

“Sometimes he’s nearly horizontal he’s that laid back,” said Moyes. “He’s a real good boy, he wants to improve and he’s got a great manner in the way he goes about his job.

“You can see that in his play. He’s the sort of player that many teams were all looking for and he’s young and has quite a bit to go in his development.

“He’s comfortable on the ball and I think central midfield is where he’s best but maybe by the time he’s 23 or 24 he may be a top centre-half.

“I don’t know how Rio Ferdinand started his career but I think he started as a central midfield player and eventually moved back. He has a lot of similar qualities.”

An FA Cup quarter final against West Ham United or Middlesbrough now awaits the Toffees, Moyes's men knowing victory will guarantee them a semi-final trip to Wembley.

“We want to take it game by game but this was a massive win for us,” said Arteta. “We have been missing a lot of players and it seems as if it has been like that for a season.

“But the lads did really well. Every time we have difficulties, we try to do something different. We could be saying ‘we haven’t got this or that’ but we just go and win again.

“It would be beautiful to get to the final but there is a long way to go and we just have to make sure that we keep our concentration.”

Tickets for Everton v West Bromwich Albion are now on general sale. Click here to buy.