What does the Mason Mount interest mean for Emile Smith Rowe?

Arsenal are intent on bolstering their midfield options this summer, with Declan Rice and Mason Mount both being heavily linked.

Charles Watts, Simon Collings and many more respected journalists have said that Arsenal are keen to add quality at the number six position and add a more creative player for the left-eight role, with Mason Mount being explored by the club.

But, could that spell bad news for Emile Smith Rowe, and what would Mount add that he doesn’t have?

What does the Mason Mount interest mean for Emile Smith Rowe?

The most obvious answer is experience. Despite being just 18 months older than Smith Rowe, Mount has played 161 more games at club level and 33 at international level. He’s also got a Champions League winners medal to his name.

A huge part of this is down to availability. Since going on loan to Vitesse in 2017, Mount has missed just 12 games through injury, mostly coming in the forms of minor knocks rather than muscular injuries.

By contrast, Smith Rowe has missed 55 with muscular injuries being a constant problem throughout his time at Arsenal, leading to groin surgery earlier this season which kept him out for four months.

Since then, he has struggled for game time, with Arteta choosing Leandro Trossard on the left wing and Fabio Vieira at left eight when he has rotated Gabriel Martinelli and Granit Xhaka.

A huge part of this can be put down to match fitness, but it is worth noting that Arteta has signed several players in the positions Smith Rowe can operate in over the last two years, and could soon be chasing Mount, which would suggest he doesn’t fully trust him.

There’s also the issue of Smith Rowe’s development. We know he can carry, dribble and shoot, but can he offer the off-the-ball and physical side of the game that Granit Xhaka currently offers or the creativity that Mount has shown he can bring?

We don’t know. People can speculate, but we haven’t seen him do it for Arsenal, and while Arteta says he has those skills, he hasn’t thrown him into the mix to prove it.

With Mount, Arsenal would be adding an incredibly intelligent player who thrives under tactical managers. Under Thomas Tuchel, he notched 11 Premier League goals and ten assists and was one of Chelsea’s best players as they finished third.

This season, he has struggled under multiple managers, an injury that kept him out for five games, and a squad that has no identity, but it is no surprise that Arsenal, United, City, Liverpool and Newcastle have all shown interest because they see his talent, not his form.

At Chelsea, he has been an ever-present under every manager, and that is because he can be trusted to do a job. He can be trusted to carry out the manager’s instructions to the letter, and that is something that Arteta doesn’t feel Smith Rowe can do at this moment in time.

The hope is that both can operate in the same team, however with the ambitions Arsenal have this summer, Smith Rowe could be one of the unpopular sales that we knew would come at some point.