Manchester United striker Michael Owen sees himself in Chicharito
Former Liverpool man feels he shares the same instinctive style as the young Mexican, and explains how he has had to adapt his game and become a more rounded player with age
Manchester United striker
Michael Owen feels that team-mate
Javier Hernandez has a similar "instinctive" style of play to him.
The former Liverpool man says he built his game on being in the right place at the right time in the penalty area and sees the same traits in the 23-year old Mexican, who has delivered an impressive scoring record at a young age.
"A lot of great strikers seem to have instincts built into their make-up," Owen told Manchester United's official website.
"There's definitely an intuitive element that goes with being a striker – or at least being a certain type of striker.
"I'd say that I was an instinctive striker, as is somebody like Chicharito. But I wouldn't have said Wayne Rooney or Dimitar Berbatov are as reliant on instinct as we are.
"It comes down to making the right runs and being in the right position at the right time. You always have to be ready, you have to be on your toes anticipating where the ball will be.
"As I said, some people seem to have a knack for that sort of play from an early age and, of course, years of playing as a striker helps hone that as well."
But while he feels gifted to have that striker's instinct, Owen explained how other aspects of his game took time to improve.
"I think the deeper understanding of the game came, in my case, just through experience," he said.
"The ability to play different types of passes, to score different sorts of goals – it all came from testing stuff out on the pitch.
"I'd find myself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and try a certain type of finish. If it worked, I'd try it again the next time. If it didn't, I'd try something else.
"So you teach yourself how to react to different situations, based on the situations you’ve been in previously. It’s a gradual process and you need a lot of luck too."
Owen, only 5ft 7in tall, also admitted that faster, more physical players have become in vogue in the Premier League over the years, and says footballers now need to have an all-round game.
"It's never been easy to make it as a professional footballer and it's not getting any easier," he said.
"These days football is very athletic as well as skilful – you need the right sort of body to cope with the rigours of the game. You also need to be quick, or you’ll be left behind.
"You need to be confident and calm on the ball, and have a good reading of the game. You need an awful lot to succeed."