Emile Smith Rowe seems to enjoy his comparison with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
His fellow players have affectionately nicknamed the youngster, who just broke into the Arsenal first-team late last year, “Croydon De Bruyne”.
It is a name that he earned after starring for Arsenal in their game against Chelsea.
The midfielder has stayed in the team since his performance in that match and has remained one of their key players despite the arrival of Martin Odegaard.
He was recently quizzed about the moniker by Sun Sports and the smile on his face says it all about how much he enjoys being compared to one of the best players in the Premier League.
The Englishman says he hears some of his teammates call him that and admits that it feels great considering the player De Bruyne is.
He adds that the Belgian is someone that he looks up to, so that makes it “good” to be nicknamed after him.
Smith Rowe said: “A couple of the boys always say it to me, which is obviously quite funny.
“It’s great. He’s someone I look up to who is an unbelievable player. It’s good to get a nickname like that.”
I think he will be better than De bruyne in the near future if he keeps his head up. Arsenal should manage him cautiously, not overworking him. His competition with Odegaard is a welcomed development 2 ginger him & Odegaard should be kept 4 competition sake.
Enough with the ridiculous comparisons…just let the kid play in his preferred position again so we can really see what we’ve got moving forward