What Arsenal fans did to Emile Smith Rowe in 69th minute as transfer stance emerges

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Journalist Charles Watts has discussed the Arsenal fans’ love of Emile Smith Rowe and what his future may look like.

Emile Smith Rowe took a major step forward in his quest to reinstate himself as a key figure at Arsenal on Saturday.

As far as the Premier League is concerned, Smith Rowe has largely been limited to very late cameos from the bench so far this season.

However, against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Mikel Arteta introduced the Hale End academy graduate to the fray in the 69th minute to a rapturous ovation. It was the Spanish manager’s first change of the match, bringing on Smith Rowe alongside Gabriel Martinelli, in place of Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard, respectively. 

Whilst Martinelli had the more meaningful impact on the match, bagging a late brace against the Eagles, Smith Rowe also played his part. The 23-year-old looked fit and confident and ready for more regular game time.

The 3-cap England international has been something of an outcast at Arsenal for the last couple of seasons, largely due to recurrent injury issues. However, the form of the likes of Granit Xhaka, Trossard, and Martinelli, amongst others, has significantly limited his opportunities even when he has been fit.

This has led to plenty of speculation about Smith Rowe’s future at Arsenal. Certainly, for a player of his quality, he needs to be playing regularly. There is only so long he will be satisfied with a bit-part role in north London, no matter how much he loves the club.

You could be forgiven for forgetting just how good Smith Rowe can be when fit and firing on all cylinders. The last time he was a regular in the Arsenal side was the 2021/22 season. He bagged 10 Premier League goals over the course of that campaign, and captured the hearts of Arsenal fans, along with fellow breakout academy star Bukayo Saka.

Charles Watts reveals Arsenal plan for Emile Smith Rowe

Charles Watts certainly remembers how much promise and potential Smith Rowe has and insists that Arteta is aware of it too. Speaking on his Inside Arsenal YouTube platform, the reporter said, “this is a really crucial time for Smith Rowe when it comes to Arsenal and his future…he wasn’t given enough minutes to really prove himself last season, hopefully that changes this season…He’s got so much to offer.”

“The cheer that he got when he came on at the weekend, it was the loudest cheer of the day…He’s so popular amongst the Arsenal fanbase, and they want to see more of him. At the moment, when it comes to Smith Rowe, Arsenal are very unwavering in their stance on him. They were in the summer, he sat down with the club and his agents and it was made very, very clear to him and them that he was not going to go anywhere in the summer.”

“He didn’t really get too many minutes over the first half of the season to back up those words that Arsenal gave him. But, still, right now in January, again, the message from Arsenal is very much the same…From Smith Rowe’s point of view, he absolutely wants to stay at Arsenal, for now. He’s all in, for now.”

With it clear that Smith Rowe wants to stay and fight for his place at Arsenal, Arteta must now make good on his word and give the midfielder the chances he needs to shine. Getting Smith Rowe back to his best in the second half of this season could also provide a huge boost to the Gunners’ title chances.