Arsenal vs FC Vorskla: Hopes, dreams, and Emile Smith Rowe

Arsenal’s Europa League campaign kicks off with plenty of exciting things to focus on, but maybe the most exciting is Emile Smith Rowe, and the mystery that is.

Arsenal have the benefit, yes benefit, of only having to worry about the Europa League, which gives them the luxury of being able to play around with their roster a bit, at least at the beginning when match-ups are less, well, intimidating.

That may change later on, but for now, best to enjoy it and utilize it. We can expect to see plenty of youngsters out there in the first match-up against Vorskla, but they won’t be just any youngsters, they’ll be guys that are on the fringe of the first team already. Guys that are pushing to be the next wave of regulars.

Some of them we feel we know pretty well already. Eddie Nketiah is at a stage where I feel as though there is no possible way he can’t be a reliable first-teamer in the very near future. He has passed the stage of being nothing but a bottle of hopes and dreams, he has actual clear and present value.

Emile Smith Rowe is still a bottle of hopes and dreams. As usual, he has all the potential in the world, we are all over the moon at his potential, but other than a superb preseason, he hasn’t done anything.

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Meaning that these side competitions, Europa League first, will be his first stage to do with what he sees fit. If the preseason was anything to go by, there is a lot to be excited about. But we’ve been here before. Reiss Nelson had a fantastic preseason last summer. That didn’t pan out well.

Jeff Reine-Adelaide had his fair share of superb preseason performances too, and we all thought he was going to be the next greatest thing ever.

Well, Smith Rowe is the next, next greatest thing ever. Or rather, the next, next, next, next, next, so on and so forth, because this happens all the time. Rarely do players find that next step so soon after a stunning preseason, but there is always that hope and dream that Smith Rowe come out and do exactly that.

Is it likely? Hell no. But special players do happen. And if Smith Rowe is one of them, you won’t find any complaint out of anyone. It’s been awhile since we had one anyway.