Arsenal: “The Jeff” departure a lesson for Emile Smith Rowe

Arsenal have confirmed the departure of Jeff-Reine Adelaide on a permanent deal, which is just another reminder of what excessive hype can do.

Arsenal are always going to have a lot of talented young players coming up through their system. Not all of them are going to make it. In fact, the gross majority won’t make it. Even the cream of the crop, those boasted as the future of the club, are against the current to make it.

I can make a list of players who were meant to be the next big thing, but failed, and probably continue on forever. There have been that many. Daniel Crowley is the one that always resonates the most.

Now it’s Jeff Reine-Adelaide, affectionately known as “The Jeff.”

The Jeff began his climb up hype mountain when Arsene Wenger said that the 17-year-old did things that a 17-year-old should not be able to do. He boasted of his composure and ability and set the standard for the young Frenchman who, now at the age of 20, was never able to progress past the U23 level.

The biggest problem came with his injury last year, but there were developing problems before then. For instance, steady progression can be nice, but there are always going to be younger, hungrier players that spring up. When Reiss Nelson emerged on the scene, Reine-Adelaide’s stock plummeted, and then the injury hit.

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Two nails in a coffin that was already closing.

In the span of three years, Reine-Adelaide was never able to make the progress that the club needed to see and now he is off to Angers, a French side that is nowhere near the same level as the Gunners.

It’s quite the fall from grace, and at such a still-young age.

All of this is happening right as Emile Smith Rowe is wowing fans with his fancy footwork, his grit and determination, and his residency at base camp on hype mountain. He begins his climb just as Reine-Adelaide has plummeted to his demise.

Hopefully this serves as a warning to the young Englishman. Not that Reine-Adelaide did anything inherently wrong, but maybe he lost his hunger in tandem with being pushed off the tracks by injuries.

When the opportunity is there, you have to take it. The Jeff didn’t. Rowe has to.