Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Emile Smith Rowe after his brilliant cameo against Molde in the Europa League on Thursday.
The 20-year-old hadn’t played a game for Arsenal under Arteta until yesterday. He last featured in Freddie Ljungberg’s final game in charge against Everton, and he was shipped out on loan to Huddersfield Town in January.
Smith Rowe was on the bench in our Community Shield win against Liverpool at the start of this season. He sadly injured himself after and was sidelined for a few months as a result.
The youngster came on a substitute for the last 15 minutes last night and he didn’t waste any time. He assisted Folarin Balogun’s goal and won a ton of plaudits from fans and pundits.
Arteta too was hugely impressed. He claimed that Smith Rowe is a player with incredible talent, but urged the fans to be patient with his development as the pressure that comes with playing for our club is massive.
Arteta: We need to be patient with Smith Rowe
He told Football London: “Emi is a player with incredible talent who just needs time. He’s got the ability and the quality to play for this club. Mentally it’s always a challenge because the demands are so high and the pressure is high to play here.”
“You need to hit those levels to become an Arsenal player. It’s down to him as well. I really like him and he’s a player that we need to be a little bit patient with and we’ve got a great player there.”
Smith Rowe is a phenomenal talent and there is absolutely no doubt about that. He was a real star for Huddersfield Town in the Championship as he saved them from relegation in the penultimate game of last season.
He has shown his class for us as well whenever he has received opportunities. We desperately need a creative midfielder and with Ozil out of the picture, Smith Rowe can stake his claim if he comes up with a few more impressive displays in the Europa League.
