Being selected as the best in your league by a contemporary is an honour for any footballer. But being selected by Italian legend and footballing maestro Andrea Pirlo is a rather impressive honour.

New York City FC midfielder Pirlo named three Arsenal stars in his selection of the best players in the Premier League, with Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez all earning the endorsement of the World Cup winner.

It is perhaps no surprise that Pirlo should be so enamoured with Ozil, both earning adulation for their languid style on the pitch and ability to pick out a team-mate at will.

Speaking to Shortlist magazine Pirlo labelled the Arsenal playmaker: “Maybe the most creative player in Europe right now.

“[He] creates an unbelievable amount of chances for attackers playing ahead of him. He has vision like nobody else in Europe.”

The 36-year-old was equally effusive in his praise for Ozil’s team-mate Sanchez, who he feels is finally getting the credit his talent deserves after slipping under the radar at Barcelona.

“It is easy not to get the credit you deserve at Barcelona because of [Lionel] Messi, and now Neymar and [Luis] Suarez, but Sanchez has shown at Arsenal how good he is,” Pirlo said.

Arsenal vs Southampton - player ratings 13 show all Arsenal vs Southampton - player ratings 1/13 Who stood out at Emirates Stadium? 2/13 Petr Cech: 6 Will doubtless be overshadowed by excellence from Fraser Forster but as per usual Cech never put a foot wrong and was always live to Southampton’s attempts to get in behind his defenders. 2016 Getty Images 3/13 Hector Bellerin: 5 A rare loose display from the full-back, who was one of several to give the ball away far too often. His crossing was as good as ever but too often Long and Mane were able to exploit the space he left. 2016 Getty Images 4/13 Gabriel: 5 There were good reasons for dropping Per Mertesacker, who is looking more cumbersome by the week, but this was not a match where Gabriel fully convinced in his stead. Was very lucky to not give away a penalty in the second half when only Mane’s refusal to go down saved him. 2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 5/13 Laurent Koscielny: 6 A key figure in a misfiring second half, on more than one occasion sweeping in behind to stop the dangerous Long and Mane sweeping in behind. However how he missed an unmarked header from six yards out only he will know. 2016 Getty Images 6/13 Nacho Monreal: 6 In the mistake-filled morass of the first half Monreal stood out by rarely putting a foot wrong. He sat much deeper than he has in past games but it was notable that Southampton had little joy down the right. 7/13 Mathieu Flamini: 5 Simply lacks the legs to cut it alongside Ramsey in the middle of the park. He was unable to cover the ground required as his colleague pressed forward, allowing Southampton to pick the Gunners apart on the counter. Increasingly, and justifiably, lost his rag with Ramsey as he failed to track back with any urgency. 2016 Getty Images 8/13 Aaron Ramsey: 4 Santi Cazorla dictates play for Arsenal in the deep-lying playmaking role, and so did Ramsey. Hence with so many passes flying wide of the mark and straight into touch the Gunners’ first-half was utterly atrocious. The second half saw him more often than not alongside Giroud but he had even less impact there. 2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 9/13 Joel Campbell: 5 Once more the work-rate was present and correct but the quality was lacking. First the ambitious passes stopped paying off, then the basic ones. He would track back and look to recover his mistakes but more often than not that would lead to a free-kick. 10/13 Mesut Ozil: 5 Muscularly dealt with by Victor Wanyama and Oriol Romeu, but his influence grew as the match wore on. He may not have been able to take the first-chance opportunities but that was more down to the luck and excellence of Forster than anything else. His set-piece delivery was exceptionally poor for a man with his recent record. 11/13 Alexis Sanchez: 7 About the only Arsenal player in the opening period who looked like crafting a chance or even correctly placing a pass, as in his beautiful delivery to Ozil. But his own superiority was soon to be his downfall as he hubristically took the burden of the whole team’s output on his shoulders. 12/13 Olivier Giroud: 5 Is it fair to criticise him for constantly dropping deep into midfield in a bid to create something. Probably not, such was the dominance of Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte in the air. A frustrating night was defined in opposition to the excellence of Forster, who on several occasions kept out several efforts that seemed destined for goal. 13/13 Theo Walcott: 5 Barring a double chance spurned seconds after coming on Walcott offered little to Arsenal’s attempts to break Southampton down and was once more notable by his absence. 1/13 Who stood out at Emirates Stadium? 2/13 Petr Cech: 6 Will doubtless be overshadowed by excellence from Fraser Forster but as per usual Cech never put a foot wrong and was always live to Southampton’s attempts to get in behind his defenders. 2016 Getty Images 3/13 Hector Bellerin: 5 A rare loose display from the full-back, who was one of several to give the ball away far too often. His crossing was as good as ever but too often Long and Mane were able to exploit the space he left. 2016 Getty Images 4/13 Gabriel: 5 There were good reasons for dropping Per Mertesacker, who is looking more cumbersome by the week, but this was not a match where Gabriel fully convinced in his stead. Was very lucky to not give away a penalty in the second half when only Mane’s refusal to go down saved him. 2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 5/13 Laurent Koscielny: 6 A key figure in a misfiring second half, on more than one occasion sweeping in behind to stop the dangerous Long and Mane sweeping in behind. However how he missed an unmarked header from six yards out only he will know. 2016 Getty Images 6/13 Nacho Monreal: 6 In the mistake-filled morass of the first half Monreal stood out by rarely putting a foot wrong. He sat much deeper than he has in past games but it was notable that Southampton had little joy down the right. 7/13 Mathieu Flamini: 5 Simply lacks the legs to cut it alongside Ramsey in the middle of the park. He was unable to cover the ground required as his colleague pressed forward, allowing Southampton to pick the Gunners apart on the counter. Increasingly, and justifiably, lost his rag with Ramsey as he failed to track back with any urgency. 2016 Getty Images 8/13 Aaron Ramsey: 4 Santi Cazorla dictates play for Arsenal in the deep-lying playmaking role, and so did Ramsey. Hence with so many passes flying wide of the mark and straight into touch the Gunners’ first-half was utterly atrocious. The second half saw him more often than not alongside Giroud but he had even less impact there. 2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 9/13 Joel Campbell: 5 Once more the work-rate was present and correct but the quality was lacking. First the ambitious passes stopped paying off, then the basic ones. He would track back and look to recover his mistakes but more often than not that would lead to a free-kick. 10/13 Mesut Ozil: 5 Muscularly dealt with by Victor Wanyama and Oriol Romeu, but his influence grew as the match wore on. He may not have been able to take the first-chance opportunities but that was more down to the luck and excellence of Forster than anything else. His set-piece delivery was exceptionally poor for a man with his recent record. 11/13 Alexis Sanchez: 7 About the only Arsenal player in the opening period who looked like crafting a chance or even correctly placing a pass, as in his beautiful delivery to Ozil. But his own superiority was soon to be his downfall as he hubristically took the burden of the whole team’s output on his shoulders. 12/13 Olivier Giroud: 5 Is it fair to criticise him for constantly dropping deep into midfield in a bid to create something. Probably not, such was the dominance of Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte in the air. A frustrating night was defined in opposition to the excellence of Forster, who on several occasions kept out several efforts that seemed destined for goal. 13/13 Theo Walcott: 5 Barring a double chance spurned seconds after coming on Walcott offered little to Arsenal’s attempts to break Southampton down and was once more notable by his absence.

“They have made him the focal point of their attack and he is repaying their faith.”

Only Manchester City have more players than Arsenal in Pirlo’s selection, which includes struggling Chelsea duo Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry, as four City players – Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero – make the cut.

And Pirlo believes the Argentine striker could be the difference in what is set to be a close-run title race.

See Pirlo’s full selection below