Cape Town - Kanu Nwankwo has touted Kelechi Nwakali to eclipse him and become a superstar at new club Arsenal, upon the completion of his move from Diamond Football Academy.
The deal for the highly-rated 17-year-old was reportedly sealed last week, with the Gunners paying £3m to secure the services of the Nigeria Under-20 international captain.
The box-to-box midfielder, who was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the 2015 U-17 World Youth Championship, is set to kickstart his career in August - once he turns 18 years old.
Speaking to owngoalnigeria.com, Kanu stated his belief that Nwakali could surpass his achievements at Arsene Wenger's side.
"He is going to Arsenal at such a young age which means he could stay there longer than I did and develop properly above all he could win more laurels than I did during my time at Arsenal," Kanu said.
"I have high hopes on him succeeding at Arsenal, he is so talented for his age and he has a very good sense of listening, he will succeed at Arsenal, I have no doubt about that in my heart."
The player, who was reportedly being chased by the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, West Ham United, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos and Udinese, last week revealed that he had signed a five-year-deal with Arsenal, despite piquing the interest of a number of teams in Europe.
"I just came back from London, I have signed a five-year contract with Arsenal," Nwakali said.
"So many teams were interested in me but it has been my dream at a tender age to play for Arsenal."