Manchester United defender Chris Smalling talks up the potential of teammate Anthony Martial by claiming that the forward is a real handful to play against.

Chris Smalling has warned Arsenal that they face a huge task trying to contain 'unpredictable' Anthony Martial this afternoon.

The French youngster has made a big impression since joining Manchester United for an initial fee of £36m on transfer-deadline day.

Four goals in six games has turned Martial into a household name on these shores, and Smalling expects his teammate to continue turning on the style in the Premier League.

"Playing against him in training you know the handful that he is," the centre-back is quoted as saying by the Daily Star. "You can see what he does in games. He's probably the one forward I'd stick at the top of the list of who I wouldn't want to play against at the moment.

"We play 11 against 11 in training so I come up against him and other forwards. He's quick and has that skill. Anthony has added that injection of unpredictability up front where he can turn players and run at them. But people are surprised by how strong he is.

"He was up against two very physical defenders against Wolfsburg in the Champions League and obviously every week in the league. But he has more than handled himself. He's running into channels. Against Wolfsburg we knew they would make the pitch big with two wingers, so we knew if we slid it down the sides of their centre-backs, he has the beating of anybody."

Martial spent two years at AS Monaco before switching from the south of France for Manchester last month.