Wayne Rooney is a fan of Emile Smith Rowe, and the Derby County manager heaped praise on the Arsenal man last night.
Smith Rowe is one of the key players at the Emirates who are driving the club towards a return to the top four.
He has been on a rapid rise since he got his chance to impress under Mikel Arteta and has even been earning call ups to the England national team.
While on punditry duty during Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace, Rooney revealed he is a fan of the midfielder, and he even attempted to sign him on loan when he first became Derby’s manager.
He said via The Daily Mail: Yeah, I am [a fan], I think he’s a fantastic young player.
‘When I first went in as manager of Derby, he’s actually a player who I enquired about to try and bring in on loan.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Smith Rowe has been one of our finest players in the last two campaigns, and he is guaranteed to spend the next few seasons still as an important member of our first team.
Clubs will be interested in him as he gets better, but Arsenal needs to prove they are serious by keeping him away from the clutches of these Premier League sides.