Already, several of Sunderland’s first team members this season are in the running to go down as modern greats at the Stadium of Light.

Indeed, Granit Xhaka is already being spoken of as an “unbelievable” star by journalist Phil Smith so soon into his Black Cats stay, and it’s for good reason, too, with the Swiss international both gritty and creative from the middle of the park.

Both Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete at the back have also been receiving wild praise for their defensive masterclasses, while Wilson Isidor has cemented himself as a fan favourite even further by bagging three goals already this season in front of the passionate Wearside masses.

There is one ace that hasn’t even been mentioned yet, who could even go down as the Premier League side’s modern-day iteration of Julio Arca, with the South American a beloved talent throughout his time at the Black Cats, who always had a way of entertaining fans with skills and tricks aplenty.

Arca's heroics at Sunderland

The wonderful strike above sums up Arca’s entertaining game very well, with the Argentine midfielder often unafraid to maraud forward, before curling home a beautiful effort.

In total, for the Black Cats, who yo-yo’d between the Premier League and the Championship during the now retired trickster’s lengthy stay, Arca would pick up a sizeable 21 goals and 11 assists from 173 appearances, with his ex-Stadium of Light teammate in Matt Poom even hailing the former number 33 as being “very confident” in his own ability to wreak havoc.

Further dubbed as being “different class” by ex-Hartlepool United boss Neale Cooper at the time, it would be down the left flank where Arca would get the most joy, having initially been placed into the side as a left-back on his arrival to England from his native Argentina.

Pushing the skilful 5-foot-9 attacker further up the pitch to a left wing position would, then, prove to be a masterstroke, with the rest ending up being history as Arca became a constant of many a Sunderland XI.

Capable of playing as a central midfielder, too, if needed, there are some remarkable similarities between the £3.5m purchase and a current gem in Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland set-up, with the ace in question hopeful he can go down as being as cherished as Arca over time.

Le Bris' very own Arca

Le Bris does have various tricky players at his disposal at the moment who can serve up a moment of Arca-like genius.

The aforementioned Isidor has looked cool and confident in front of goal in the early stages of the season to put away some tricky chances, while Xhaka has also stylishly gone about his business with three assists notched up from his seven Premier League outings.

But, it’s Enzo Le Fee who could well be Le Bris’ own version of Arca right now, with the Frenchman traditionally a central midfielder option by trade, who has shown off his obvious class for Sunderland – since leaving France behind – when being deployed down the left channel by his manager.

Amazingly, despite making 73 career appearances to date from a central role, the “incredible” midfielder – as he has been lauded by scout Jacek Kulig – has largely been handed chances in the Black Cats’ first team on Arca’s trusty left-hand side, with a promising two goals and three assists coming his way when consistently putting in classy performances from this adopted spot.

One of those efforts would see Le Fee coolly put away a penalty to hand Le Bris and Co. a 2-1 win over Brentford back in August, with the Frenchman hopeful he can guide Sunderland to immediate safety by putting in even more assured displays at the demanding level.

He could even be dreaming of achieving what Arca managed during his debut season in Sunderland red and white, with the Kevin Phillips-led outfit securing a seventh-place finish when collecting 15 total league victories.

2005/06

20th (relegation)

2004/05

1st (promoted)

2003/04

3rd

2002/03

20th (relegation)

2001/02

17th

2000/01

7th

Unfortunately, Arca couldn’t sustain that success on Wearside, with Le Fee praying he can offer the same unpredictable magic the South American had in abundance, while also consolidating his side as a Premier League regular in the process.