Emile Smith Rowe put in another highly impressive performance in the victory over Tottenham at the weekend, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is more than happy with his input.
The 20 year-old has been called up for the England Under-21 side ahead of the Under-21 European Championships this summer, closing the door on any outside chance he had at playing for the senior side.
While some will be shocked by the decision, there is more than enough talent already proven in the senior side, but you would be very surprised if Smith Rowe wasn’t already being considered by Gareth Southgate.
Mikel Arteta is certainly impressed by ESR, and talks up what he brings to the squad.
Mikel Arteta opens up on Emile Smith Rowe's performance and what he brings to the Arsenal first-team 😍😍😍
Should he be in with a chance of making the England squad this summer? 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/V6dVMMDAMM
— Just Arsenal News (@JustArsenal) March 15, 2021
Am I alone in rating the potential of Smith Rowe as highly as Bukayo Saka despite the age difference?
Patrick
He hit the bar, created 4 chances and had a pass completion rate of 97%.
ESR is a quality young player. I’m not the first to see some Kevin De Bruyne in him….that’s how good he could be. He is refreshing in his energy and he is full of skill and creativity. Along with Saka, Tierney, Odegaard (hope we can keep him), Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba, we have the core for the future. The future looks bright.
The only thing stopping ESR are injury concerns. He is also playing for a club which has historically been cursed with having so many promising young careers terminated by injury. Fingers crossed.