Emile Smith Rowe could be on the move this summer, but he is an incredibly popular player at Arsenal.
The 23-year-old was one of the best talents to break through the Hale End Academy into the Arsenal first team alongside Bukayo Saka, and he enjoyed an outstanding campaign with 10 Premier League goals in 2021-22.
However, injuries have derailed his progress since, and he has started just three league matches in the last two seasons. Fulham have had a bid rejected for the midfielder, and it is clear that Smith Rowe needs regular game time to get back on track.
If Smith Rowe does leave this summer, Arsenal fans may be gutted to lose a talented player who has been at the club for a long time, despite it probably being the right decision, and Mikel Arteta himself will be particularly thankful for the Englishman’s contributions over the years.
How Mikel Arteta nearly lost his job at Arsenal in 2020
After winning the FA Cup in 2020, Arteta and Arsenal endured a nightmare start to the 2020-21 campaign.
Mesut Ozil was frozen out of the squad, and the signing of Willian on a free transfer from Chelsea was a disaster.
This led to a creative void in the team, and Arsenal embarked on a dire seven-game winless run between November 1st and December 26th 2020.
Arsenal lost five of these seven games, and the team scored just four goals in this time, with only one of these coming from open play.
This run was one of the worst in the club’s Premier League history, and Arsenal were falling further down the table. Arteta was under serious pressure just a year into his reign, and heading into a Boxing day clash with Chelsea, a defeat could have seen him lose his job.
Arsenal victory over Chelsea in December 2020 saved Mikel Arteta’s job
Arsenal had a creative void in the absence of Ozil. Joe Willock and Alexandre Lacazette were both tried in the number 10 role with little success, but the solution came in Smith Rowe.
The then-teenager recovered from an injury which kept him out of the team for the start of the campaign to return to the bench in the weeks leading up to the game.
Willian and David Luiz were then struck down by illness, and Arteta’s hand was forced into picking a lineup which would become defining.
The trio behind striker Lacazette was Saka finally in his best position on the right wing, with the returning Gabriel Martinelli in on the left, and Smith Rowe as a number 10.
Everything instantly clicked, and in the early stages of the game, the slow, turgid football of the previous few weeks was forgotten, with Smith Rowe proving to be the difference as he helped Arsenal link play better going forward.
Lacazette then converted a penalty, before Granit Xhaka scored a long-range free-kick to put Arsenal 2-0 up by half time.
Saka then added a third with a finish into the top corner after a pass from Smith Rowe, which was hit from an angle which suggested that he may have intended to cross it instead, and there was suddenly life in the Arsenal side.
Chelsea pulled one back, and found themselves with the opportunity to give Arsenal a scare, but Bernd Leno saved from Jorginho’s penalty, and the full time whistle blew. Arsenal had won their first Premier League game in nearly two months, beating their rivals and finally playing attacking football again, and Smith Rowe’s presence was key to this.
Emile Smith Rowe helped Mikel Arteta launch his Arsenal project
Smith Rowe’s display earned him a place in the side, and Arsenal exploded into life. Frank Lampard was dismissed by Chelsea after the game, and had the home side lost, that could have easily been Arteta.
Arsenal improved massively in the coming months, with Smith Rowe contributing both in terms of output as well as by providing a link between midfield and attack, which was lacking before.
Arteta’s identity was beginning to show in the team, and the side was starting to play on the front foot more with Smith Rowe in the side, and the following summer window saw Ben White signed and Martin Odegaard brought back to the club.
Had Smith Rowe not come in and had the impact he made, Arteta may have been dismissed, and the Arsenal squad may not have Odegaard pulling the strings as captain, or Ben White alongside William Saliba in the back line.
If Arsenal go on to win major trophies under Arteta, that Boxing Day victory over Chelsea will go down in history as the turning point of his tenure, and Smith Rowe’s contributions into helping his manager and team recover from their lowest point will never be forgotten.
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