Arsenal lucky to have magical Emile Smith Rowe

When the curtain draws on the 2020/21 season, one which Arsenal may be left to mourn as the worst campaign of many supporters’ lives, what joy can be extracted from the gloom will be simple. Emile Smith Rowe will be one such positive.

He could be the positive were it not for the similarly exceptional Bukayo Saka, who has elevated his game from wonderfully talented graduate to utterly essential piece of a complicated puzzle. No longer a pillar but the very foundations themselves.

Emile Smith Rowe is not far behind.

Since breaking into the team at Christmas, Arsenal have won 12 matches. The 20-year-old has started in ten of them.

https://twitter.com/emilesmithrowe/status/1382818252087201792

Arsenal lucky to have magical Emile Smith Rowe as Hale End graduate excels in masterful Slavia Prague performance

With the exception of Bramall Lane and Old Trafford, all of the Gunners’ best performances have been with him in the team. There is no such thing as a coincidence.

Against Slavia Prague it was Smith Rowe at his glittering best. This a player who had been out of the previous two Premier League squads with injury but returned to the fold bursting with energy and freedom.

The latter point is key. Mikel Arteta said post-match that he sets the team up to provide his Hale Enders with the best opportunity to let their qualities sing. For the manager in this instance it’s about ensuring Smith Rowe is given a tactical role that suits his skillset. From there his magic is cast.

Working in tandem with Nicolas Pepe to his left, Saka to his right and Alexandre Lacazette in front, his brain never stops scanning and evaluating. We can wax lyrical about his quick feet, mesmeric first touch and off the ball movement, yet it’s so often what he does in the actions before that dazzles.

Like the bookworm in high school, he’s always a few chapters ahead. Reading the passages of play and knowing where he need be in four passes time, how he draws opposition players out of position and moves them into areas he wants them is instinctive. Natural ability. Smith Rowe has mastered the art of the third man run, lifting the game of those around him.

Such cleverness is on show each time he takes to the pitch, and even on off days where his quality on the ball may be lacking, making those runs are an asset in themselves. He doesn’t have to be outstanding to have a meaningful impact on proceedings.

For someone his age there is not going to be weekly 9/10 performances, thus having this trait, one that improves those around him, is invaluable in this side.

Get him tied down. This is a lad who bleeds red and white, and gets everyone’s pulses racing all the while.