Little Arsenal prodigy, Emile Smith Rowe had a fairly meteoric rise during the 2020/2021 season when Mikel Arteta installed him as a starter during a match against Chelsea. Alternating between the position of playmaker and left midfielder, he delivered a remarkable end to the year (33 matches, 4 goals and 7 goals) where he slowly established himself as the new darling of the Emirates Stadium. Appreciated for his qualities and his status as a player trained at the club, he was the symbol of Arsenal’s new dynamic in the same way as Bukayo Saka. His 2021/2022 season confirmed this with a central role in the squad (11 goals and 2 goals in 37 matches). Despite the arrival as playmaker of Martin Ødegaard, Emile Smith Rowe quickly adapted to a left midfielder role which allowed for an asymmetrical system with Bukayo Saka on the other wing. Having then become an English international (3 caps, 1 goal), everything seemed to be smiling on Emile Smith Rowe who was also given the number 10 and an extension until June 2026.
Since then, the situation has evolved, but not in favor of the right-hander. Not called up for the English selection since March 2022, he had been “demoted” with the U21 team. A blessing in disguise since he won the Euro last summer with the young Three Lions team. Author of a good tournament (2 goals and 1 offering), he had alternated between a starting role and a joker, but had finished the competition as a player in the English eleven. At club level, however, the situation is much more assertive, Emile Smith Rowe has lost ground in Mikel Arteta’s plans. Playing only 15 matches last season (2 offerings), he has only 3 meager appearances this season for 24 minutes to his credit. This is far too little for a player who has not started for 499 days and on May 16, 2022 during a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle. A flash ban which has several explanations.
Finally hope for Emile Smith Rowe?
Among them, we can already rely on the tactical aspect. Since last season, Martin Ødegaard has become essential with the London club of which he is captain. Number 10 with a huge amount of play, the Norwegian makes any competition impossible as he is so valuable to his team. From then on, we must instead look at other positions to hope to see Emile Smith Rowe flourish. Having become a left midfielder to share the creative aspect with the Norwegian, he saw another element gain even more influence from him upon his arrival in the summer of 2022: Oleksandr Zinchenko. A midfielder repositioned as a left-back by Pep Guardiola, the Ukrainian likes to get back to the heart of the game and this requires more of an overflow winger in front of him. What Emile Smith Rowe is not but what Gabriel Martinelli is. Exploding last year (15 goals and 6 goals in 46 matches), the Brazilian knew how to take advantage of the situation and this undermined Emile Smith Rowe. And as misfortune never happens alone, the young Englishman experienced a long period of unavailability following a groin injury. Returning in the second part of the season, but without managing to regain an important place, Emile Smith Rowe knows that his future will lie more in the midfield.
While Declan Rice fills the sentry position, one final position remains open with Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira in the equation. Two competitors who finally give a glimpse of a possibility to Emile Smith Rowe who is also expected to return to a starting role this Wednesday evening in the Cup against Brentford. After the 4-0 victory against PSV Eindhoven a week ago, Mikel Arteta liked the support shown by the fans for the player upon his arrival and is counting on him for the future. At a press conference this Wednesday, he continued to push in this direction: “There are many reasons why he hasn’t started a match. He was gone for a long, long time. He played a stretch of matches with the national team, then came back and didn’t play. In the last two games he played more minutes and tonight he will have a great chance to show that he can play at this level and be a really important player. He needs time on the pitch, he needs opportunities, and we want to give him that. Then he has to prove, like anyone else on the field, that he deserves to play. Emile Smith Rowe’s nightmare may end, but he will have to quickly jump at the opportunity to revive his career which is slowly falling into decay…
