Arsenal: Emile Smith Rowe to replicate Mesut Ozil?

Mesut Ozil has been re-born in an inside-right attacking midfield role under Mikel Arteta. Could young prospect Emile Smith Rowe now replicate the Arsenal star’s performances?

What has been the most surprising element of Mikel Arteta’s start as Arsenal’s new head coach? Well, there have been plenty of shockingly positive elements to his input thus far, but it might well be that Mesut Ozil is working as hard as anyone in the team right now.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Mikel Guardiola or Pep Arteta?

He made 10 ball recoveries against Manchester United, more than any other player on the pitch, ranked top five in the Premier League for pressures and defensive actions in the opposing half in the first 45 minutes of the New Years Day fixtures, and covered more distance than every player bar Lucas Torreira and Fred.

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

This newly inspired work-rate has revolutionised Ozil’s impact on the game. He may not have provided an assist or goal yet under Arteta, but he has created five chances from open play. On the season, he only has 11 chances created from open play. Ozil is playing close to his best, and is certianly working harder than he ever has.

It is impossible not to make the comparison to Kevin de Bruyne, who has often been touted as a similarly creative player as Ozil but marrying such quality with intense work-rate off the ball. In reality, de Bruyne is who Ozil always should have been and never was. Until now.

And there is another player in the Arsenal squad that has been, perhaps unfairly, compared to de Bruyne. Young Emile Smith Rowe has similar attributes to the great Manchester City midfielder. he is a creator in the final third, but he also carries the ball excellently, is deceptively athletic and powerful, and is a tireless worker out of possession.

When Arsenal host Leeds United on Monday night in the third round of the FA Cup, then, we may well get the chance to see if Smith Rowe can emulate Ozil in this de Bruyne-lite role as an inside-right attacking midfielder.

Arteta has positioned Ozil in a way that provides him with offensive freedom to find pockets of space in between the opposition lines. With the right-back moving centrally and the right-winger playing extremely high, Ozil can float between the central zone and wide zone to find space away from the defenders, the opposing midfield not wanting to drop too deep and the opposing left-back pegged back by the wide player, which has been Reiss Nelson or Nicolas Pepe.

It is expected that Smith Rowe could play a similar role against Leeds. He certainly has the natural skill set to play the position at a high level and is likely the modernised, long-term successor to Ozil, who, despite his strong form, is the wrong side of 30 and could still depart in the summer.

And Smith Rowe looks to establish himself in the Arsenal team, then, the chance to emulate the recent performances of Ozil is a rare one that he must take. Arteta has proven that he can get the best out of a creative, attacking midfielder. Can Smith Rowe now take advantage?