When Emile Smith Rowe broke into the Arsenal first-team late last year, I thought we had finally found the midfielder that we needed.
To me, he might be young, but the Englishman is ready to take his chances in the team and that is what’s important.
In his 5 league appearances this season, he has provided 3 assists and those numbers will go up as he continues to shine for the Gunners.
He isn’t the finished article yet, but with every game that he plays, he has shown great improvement.
Unless he gets injured, I don’t see why Smith Rowe shouldn’t start games for us on a regular basis, but now he may have competition in Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian is reportedly set to join Arsenal on loan for the next six months. The only reason why he is making the move to London is that he wants to see more game time.
This puts Smith Rowe’s development in jeopardy because both of them play in the same position and Mikel Arteta will be forced to alternate between them now.
I don’t doubt that he can find a way to play both midfielders, but Arsenal already has the likes of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka, and it is sensible to think that only one of them will start matches.
I am excited to see Odegaard play for my team, but I’m also worried about the impact his move will have on Smith Rowe.