Arsenal: From the ashes of true ugliness rises Emile Smith Rowe

Arsenal’s match against Manchester City had little to smile about, but Emile Smith Rowe stood tall in the ugliness, and it’s nice to have renewed optimism in him again.

Manchester City exposed Arsenal worse than they’ve been exposed all season, and that’s really saying something. This has been a season to forget, and the few things we have to look forward to supposedly can’t handle having that much hope invested in them, according to Freddie Ljungberg.

Also, not to sound spoiled, but we’ve been excited about Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli for awhile. Every time we see them, we know that they are part of the future, but in a season with so much going wrong, seeing something else go right is always welcomed.

Enter Emile Smith Rowe.

Sure, we’ve been excited about him for awhile too, but he faded this season, dropped into the youth outfit despite how fantastic he has proven to be. His ability to play across the board in the creative midfield make him something special.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

If there is one thing I have to give Freddie Ljungberg credit for in that City match, it was in taking off Ozil for Emile Smith Rowe just before the hour mark. Ozil had been predictably awful and Smith Rowe had been mightily impressive against Standard Liege (man of the match, if you ask my cohort Andy), and regardless of how the match went, it required serious gumption from Freddie to give the kid a chance.

Especially after warding off fan hopes in the kids.

To see Smith Rowe so laden with optimism despite the state of the match was exactly the short, stifling breath of fresh air that we needed to see some bit of sunlight in the rain storm. And it’s not enough to sustain us, nor should it be, but it’s still nice to have something else to look forward to, and with Emile Smith Rowe being used more and more, it’s safe to say that we can get excited about that.

Of course, if you ask me, he should replace Mesut Ozil starting tomorrow, but I know that isn’t likely to happen. Freddie Ljungberg isn’t that type of manager. That manager left a little over two weeks ago.

Whatever the case, we’re going to see more of Smith Rowe, just like we’ve been seeing much more of Martinelli and Saka and that’s my light at the end of the tunnel. I recommend it become yours as well.