Sun Sports’ Tom Barclay reckons that with a talent like Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal will not miss Mesut Ozil and the midfielder’s former coach also thinks so.
Smith Rowe has stepped up to cover the creative void that has opened up at Arsenal this season.
The Gunners decided against renewing the contract of Ozil, and they didn’t even register him for any competitions this season.
As Arsenal struggled for creativity earlier in the campaign, there were calls for him to be recalled when teams are being registered again this month.
But Arsenal brought Smith Rowe into their starting XI and the Englishman has continued to impress in the few games that he has played for the club.
Barclay also spoke to one of the most important people in Smith Rowe’s football journey, Colin Omogbehin, who runs the South London youth side, Junior Elite.
This was where Smith Rowe’s talents were first discovered before Arsenal landed him.
When asked about the midfielder stepping up and filling the void left by Ozil, Omogbehin said via Sun Sports
“He showed against a big club like Chelsea he wasn’t overawed. He did an unbelievable job against N’Golo Kante.
“You have to be sensible with him as he is young and needs to be managed right.
“But I think he’ll just keep showing his quality.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of players. I don’t say this lightly, but in terms of talent and game understanding, he is the best.
“We always earmarked him, even that young. His talent was just so evident.
“You were thinking, ‘If he’s doing this now, what’s he going to be doing at 19-20?’”
There is a tendency to get carried away when a young player emerges on the stage and some of our fans are guilty of exaggerating his achievements in his three outings this season.That said, EMR has the natural, but elusive talent best described as footballing intelligence.You can coach all ages of players and in many cases you will improve their skills, but unless you have the vision to create space and to make the correct decision to fit the move, you will never be a top quality player.In the EPL, certain players have this instinctive ability such as KDB ,Martinez and Grealish.Others like Maddison and Mount are not quite there and may never be.ESR is well on the way to becoming able to unlock defences as he finds pockets of space and has the vision to play little passes through the lines.He is still a work in progress in other respects but he has the magical ingredient which could get him to the top.He needs to be handled with care, but he is actually a sturdy lad who can look after himself when the going gets tough.I am heartened by his performances so far but I hope our fans do not expect him to be a match winner every week in what is his first season on the big stage.
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Grandad you spoke my mind.
Who else remembered wilshere at just 18, ox chambarlain, i may excuse walcot.
The former had the world on his feet, the rave of arsenal but sadly his legs were made of glass, an aspect that gives me concern on esr, as his injury record is….but then with his ability of finding spaces even inside a box of matches, he needs to be protected, i say we go for an established creative midfielder in late 20s, someone who he could share game time with
SmithRowe has that low gravity to move with ball in tight spaces and can pick a clever pass at 19, he was doing this for last few seasons but now he is doing it at a level where he can help Arsenal.
Yes we keep then fresh and healthy like Arteta has been doing in him & Martinelli who both were injured and now are back already doing the business.
I wont get carried away but having Saka, Martinelli, SmithRowe, Teirney, Gabriel & Mari plus Matteo, Saliba & Dino it looks bright for us. Bolugun also but hes leaving and I’m gutted as he is better than Eddie and deserved a run.
Can anyone define exactly what “low gravity” means, as it is actually a nonsense , there being no such thing. It seems to me is it used about players who are either short or at least have short legs, But is still makes no actual sense at all. If they mean he has good ball control then why not say so!
I meant a low centre of gravity , not low gravity!
Don’t over do it with this overhype..
Let the kid grow.
We always do this with our youngsters but then nearly none of them ever materialise.
Calm your skin down.
Fans never cease to amaze me…..2 good games out of 3 as I feel the Brighton performance isn’t any good and he is the best thing since sliced bread….give the boy some time and stop putting him under unnecessary pressure which may not be good for him and get a very good proven playmaker this January ( Ericson) and we will be good for it
Yes all good, until he gets injured.