Arsenal: Emile Smith Rowe is the Mesut Ozil successor

Emile Smith Rowe is flourishing in the number 10 position for Huddersfield Town. As Arsenal look to find a successor for Mesut Ozil, they should look no further than their academy graduate.

In the near future, there will come a time when Arsenal have to find a replacement for Mesut Ozil. Some would argue that time should come sooner rather than later, but with the German now the wrong side of 30 and nearing the final year of an exorbitant contract, he will not be the long-term starter in the heart of the Gunners midfield.

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And so, head coach Mikel Arteta, who has used Ozil extensively in the early part of his tenure, must begin planning for how he will structure his central midfield without Ozil. And it likely all start with who can inherit that special number 10 position.

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Typically, you might look to the transfer window and big-money acquisition. After all, central attacking midfield is a crucial position and it makes sense to invest heavily in it, signing a high-level player who can excel in the role.

But for Arsenal, that might not be so necessary. While spending big might secure a more risk-averse solution, in Emile Smith Rowe the club already has a homegrown player who has the talent to at least compete for the post-Ozil mantle.

At 19, Smith Rowe is starting regularly for Huddersfield Town in the Championship. Playing in that classic attacking midfield role, he is flourishing and produced yet another superb display in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Bristol City.

In fact, after the match, his manager, Dan Cowley, could hardly contain his praise of the display and excitement for Smith Rowe’s future. Speaking with reporters in his post-match press conference, Cowley said:

"“Emile Smith Rowe is just a really lovely player, isn’t he? He looked a top player, didn’t he. He has that ability to find space; he could find space in a telephone box; he speeds the play up for you and draws and commits and I think it would have been a brilliant performance if he had scored. I am always going to be demanding of him because, to me, he is a Premier League player so I have to treat him like that and demand Premier League standards from him – in training and in games, day in and day out. It was a really good performance.”"

Of course, a few good performances in the Championship does not mean that Smith Rowe is ready to be Arsenal’s starting number 10. But should Ozil stay for the final year of his contract, it is not inconceivable that a player of Smith Rowe’s natural talent could inherit the role in a year’s time. And Smith Rowe is supremely talented.

Often compared to Kevin de Bruyne, he has a very similar style to the Belgian, his dribbling, passing ability and deceptive athleticism all key components of his game. He can beat defenders, he makes excellent runs off the ball with the speed to exploit space, and he is productive. He has one goal and three assists in just over 500 minutes of Championship action for Huddersfield.

Whether Smith Rowe is ready to fill the looming Ozil void or not remains to be seen. He is certainly raw, young and inexperienced. But there are few players as talented and better suited to modern football than he is, and Arsenal would wise to tap into it.