Arsenal: Emile Smith Rowe models Kevin De Bruyne, not Mesut Ozil

If the No. 10 is dead, than Arsenal didn’t get the memo. They can, however, progress with a No. 10 hybrid, and Emile Smith Rowe fits that blueprint.

It’s been said over the past decade or so that the No. 10 position is dying. So saying that Mesut Ozil is still the best No. 10 in the world is a two-sided comment. True to form, Arsenal are feeling the brunt of that two-sidedness.

Kevin De Bruyne isn’t even really a No. 10 anymore, as he plays more of a traditional central midfield, sometimes even skewed to one side or the other because Pep, apparently, got the memo and was in attendance at the funeral of the No. 10 position.

As mentioned, Arsenal weren’t, and this pseudo-reliance on a dead position with a player past the point of reviving it has hampered their ability to attack. Using the 4-2-3-1 formation, the reliance on the No. 10 is plain as day and it just hasn’t worked for the Gunners.

Enter Emile Smith Rowe. He got his first ever start in the Premier League against Everton and he was effectively ‘meh.’ He was slotted into the No. 10 role, flanked by youth, and he struggled to find space in the early going.

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But as he settled in in the second half, we could see a way forward. Both literally and figuratively. Smith Rowe has things Ozil does not. He has speed. He thinks quickly on his feet and moves with the flow of play. When he gets the ball, he doesn’t need to slow things down.

Maybe you lose a bit of the passing-centric mind, but isn’t that exactly what we want? Scrap the No. 10 model and adopt the hybrid that Kevin De Bruyne has perfected. Someone with energy to cover the entire pitch, but also someone who has creativity wherever they are on the pitch.

If they’re asked to start a counter attack from deep, they have the pace and maneuvers to do so. If they have to put the final touch on balls, either shooting or passing in the opposing third, they can do that too.

It’s asking a lot more from a player, and that’s why Ozil was never able to move this club forward. He was caught in the past. Smith Rowe is of the same type as De Bruyne, and if he can develop properly, maybe he can be the hybrid we need to modernize that vital position.