Birthday boy Emile Smith-Rowe looking for the best present from Arsenal

The Arsenal youngster Emile Smith-Rowe obviously impressed the new coach Unai Emery in pre-season training as he only heard at the last minute that was even going on tour with the first team squad. The 17 year-old was understandably ecstatic! He told Arsenal.com: “To play with the first team, to get my opportunity is a bit surreal to be honest,”

“I’m just so happy. I found out (I was going on tour) the day before. The kitman gave me a suitcase and said ‘you are travelling to Singapore’. Since then I couldn’t stop smiling. It’s been a crazy experience so far. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.”

After playing an hour against Atletico yesterday, and scoring Arsenal’s only goal of the game, he is now hopeful of get another chance against PSG tomorrow, and what an 18th birthday present that would be. “Yes, it’s my birthday on Saturday,” Smith Rowe said. “I turn 18, so if I get on it will be crazy!”

I think any youngster would love to get a present like that, and it is likely to come true after yesterday’s performance. And as for his first ever goal for the Gunners, he described it like this: “I played a one-two with Aubameyang, one of their players tried to play it back, and I obviously got it,”

“Then I saw a bit of space, and I thought ‘you know what, let me try, see what happens.’ I had time to shoot, so I just thought ‘let me try, have a chance’, and luckily it just went in. I slipped, but I’m very happy anyway.”

And so he should be, and I think all Arsenal fans are looking forward to seeing him scoring goals like that for the rest of his playing career as well!

Sam P

27 Comments

  1. Stunning goal.

    I actually told my mate to keep eye on him- because he’s looked outstanding every time I’ve watched him. So don’t think this will be isolated event

    Congrats!

      1. @ Victoria for 22 years,under wenger no player left arsenal and become a better player, that is a massive record, I don’t think any other coach in history has such records.Hope it will inrerest u to know that 99% of arsenal fans in Africa joined bcoz of wenger and his brand of football, 90% of both Asia and south American fans joined bcoz of wenger, same with North America, u can talk I’ll about wenger all day but I can only tell u that wenger made arsenal FC more popular, more valuable, richer, more followed, more loved, more appreciated and more honored, Remember for every sanogo that couldn’t make it there r 10 cecs fabregas that made it!

  2. Ramsey was also electrifying, fearless and looked very skillful when he just joined Arsenal, but then a brutal tackle from Ryan Shawcross seemed to have changed his mentality

    We shouldn’t overhype a hot prospect, because we have seen the bad effect on Ramsey, Wilshere, Iwobi, Bellerin and Nelson

    Support the lad, but no need to put extra burden on the youngster and let the talent grows with experience

  3. This kid is the real deal. But let’s not throw him direct into the deep end. I think he should be limited to cup games and sub appearances for at least another season. Let’s not rush him just yet. But I think he will be the next big thing to come out of our Academy. Seems way more talented than Reiss Nelson

  4. I like the way the commentator kept calling him Ernie instead of Emile.
    Perhaps he used to be a milkman…….. the older fans on here will get that!

  5. Stop comparing the lad to others. He’s the next Emile Smith Rowe, no matter if he turns world class or ends up like Jack. Let him play his trade in peace. No need to overhype him like British always do.

    Manager will see his progress and will give him the playing time he sees fit.

    1. @mclovin. I agree. This guy is next to nobody but himself. Also with Guendouzi, he is not Busquet or Pogba neither is next to Viera. Matteo Guendouzi is Guendouzi. This two lads are definitely going to make their own name. One thin am also sure of is that Emery is going to give both a lot of game to build on the fearlessness,intelligence and confidence which they already have.

  6. Okay fantastic goala but lets not get to crazy over this guy. We shouldn’t put too much pressure on him or have our hopes ridiculously high. I’ve seen it so many times. Wilshere, Ramsey, Gnabry, Zelalem etc.

    We also tend to be very fickle. We praise someone then after a bad season we tear them down.

    Let’s give the lad time and support to improve and develop. But def an exciting prospect for the future.

    1. @innit.you’ve seen it so many t….! That was with Wenger, not Emery . Ferguson din’nt believe in Poba , a coach who saw somting in him snapped him. Messi given he’s chance even with Ronaldinho, Xavi Inieste

    2. To be fair Wilshere was quality but injuries did for him. Ramsey’s career has been great might not be the very best but he’s an elite player and I don’t really care what anyone else says on the subject. Gnabry is developing well in Germany, he just did us dirty such is life. Zelalem I’m not overly hopeful for but he was never in the Wilshere/Ramsey/Gnabry/Nelson bracket of high rating within the club. Nice thing about Smith-Rowe is that he wasn’t really in the coversation with the likes of Willock, Osei-Tutu, Bielik etc. and has worked his way into contention. Hell he was lower rated than Dragomir/Adelaide and they have moved on.

  7. I think this should our lineup next season if we don’t bring any other additions.
    433
    Czech
    Lichsteiner Mustafi Mavropanos Monreal

    Guendouzi Torreira. AMN

    Mikhi. Laca Auba

    This should be enough to mount a genuine title challenge

    1. There is no point looking at who will start there is competition and very few safe spots. Seems obvious Unai wants time to get to know his team but also wants tactical flexibility with the more central positions.

      Cech/Leno/Macey (1 GK)
      Bellerin/Lichsteiner (1 RB/RWB)
      Mustafi/Sokratis/Chambers/Holding/Mavropanos (2 or 3 CD positions) (Mavropanos is under 21 but will be 21 in December so needs to be in the official squad as the rule is under 21 as of Jan 1st)
      Monreal/Kola (1 LB/LWB)
      Torreira/AMN/Xhaka/Elneny/Ramsey (2 or 3 CM/DM positions) (Guendouzi is in this list but under 21 and as such we don’t need to declare him)
      Ozil/Mhki/Laca/Auba/Perez/Iwobi/Welbeck (3 or 4 attacking positions) (Nelson is in the group but won’t need to be declared as under 21 and we have the full 8 HG in the list already.)
      Total HG = 8 the minimum we have to have

      Anyone older and not in that list is for sale. Interesting point here is that the list has 1 spare spot so we can sell 1 of Iwobi/Welbeck and just replace them with anyone and promote Nelson or whoever for the HG slot. This highlights why so many are stupid with who they want sold. If we sell Holding/Chambers we could sign a new CB but we would also have to keep Iwobi/Welbeck and promote a youth, if we sold both we’d have to buy a HG CB or promote another youth. Likewise Ramsey can go and we can replace him with whoever but we’d have to keep Iwobi/Welbeck and promote one of Nelson/Nketiah/Willock/Rowe we could then sell Iwobi/Welbeck but again we’d have to promote more of those player or sign a home grown player which is a waste but an option (Bare in mind that those players would expect better contracts with their status as vital HG players and we couldn’t sign non-HG without dropping likely Mav or Guen who would need to go out on loan as they couldn’t play.) Similar thing applies to Bellerin.

      1. Should add we can’t drop Guen as he’s already not in the squad so if we want to sell HG’s and buy 2 non-HG’s we’d have to drop Mav to do it

        1. Obvs the likes of Mustafi/Elneny/Xhaka/Ozil/Perez that some call for to be sold could easily be replaced.

  8. Or we can go with a 4231
    Leno
    Lich mustafi. Mavropanos. Montreal
    Guendouzi. Torreira
    Mikhi. Ozil. Auba
    Lacazette

  9. U think what? U guys should stop thinking line ups. Wenger has gone with those type of thoughts, where he does not know who to play or what position to play them thereby playing players out of position. This is Emery regime .

  10. remember that this same situation happened with Reine-adelaide??
    he’s now gone to angers!
    pls let the young lad be…and stop pressuring him!

  11. @ Fidel O…smh,.So because it is Emery’s regime, us fans are not allowed to say which players we would love to see play? Its just my wishful thinking so its not like am sending the line up to Emery…Keep calm dude!!

    1. Chiza , Actually he was from Croydon , in SOUTH London. He moved to North London, FULL TIME, aged 13 but was not born there. I realise you love hype, as your wildly optimistic posts regularly show. I prefer facts. Sober, boring but more truthful facts.

        1. I am afraid I don’t understand your post as it made no grammatical sense. My jibe at Chiza was more because all his posts are so over the top and he has little sense of perspective, which is a shame because that way he avoids, by choice, the actual truth. If you wildly claim, as he does, that we are going to win the title and he sees no fault in anything about our club or players, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment constantly. And I do not wish a young, excited and pasionate fan , as he is , to be constantly disappointed. By all means be hopeful and excited BUT surely a large dollop of realism too is more beneficial.

          1. I think his point was a new star born in North London refers to his current bursting on to the scene not his actual birth. Like Liverpool could of said a star is born in the north of England in regards to Salah last year. That said I agree when it comes to young players staying grounded is better for them as otherwise it just bites them when they like ALL young players hit poor form. Ronaldo’s numbers early on were the same as Sterling but look at the grief Sterling takes (In fairness by now Ronaldo had started kicking on but Sterling took grief way before that was true.)

            1. Yes Angus, my original post to Chiza was intended to make the factual point about Smith Rowe, but only to get him to understand that sober facts are far better than the constant ludicrously hyped posts he writes. He has said we will easily win the league and made many other wildly hyped posts. I WAS MERLY ATTEMPTING TO MAKE HIM SEE THE ERROR OF HIS WAYS AND I QUITE UNDERSTOOD, ALL ALONG, THAT HIS USE OF NORTH LONDON WAS NOT MEANT IN A FACTUAL WAY BUT IN A TYPICAL HYPED WAY. It was the way over the top way he said “A new star is born” that concerned me; not some irrelevent matter of in which part of London Smith Rowe was born.

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