Emile Smith Rowe reveals what Mikel Arteta has told him during lockdown
Emile Smith Rowe is one of the most promising young footballers to come through the Arsenal academy. He has been talked about extensively and much is expected from the burgeoning midfielder.
Smith Rowe joined the Arsenal academy at the age of 10 and made his first team debut at 18. Jack Wilshere, once the jewel in the crown at Arsenal’s academy, predicted that Smith Rowe would be the next big thing at Arsenal back in 2018.
In a season where players like Joe Willock, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah have gotten opportunities to showcase their talent, Smith Rowe has been unable to do the same primarily due to an injury hit first half of the campaign. The decision was made to loan him out to Huddersfield Town in January 2020. The aim was for him to get more minutes and take the next step in his development by coming to grips with the physicality of the Championship.
The boyhood Arsenal fan has been a roaring success for Huddersfield and has been lavished with praise by Huddersfield Town fans as well as his manager, Danny Cowley. Speaking after his team overcame Bristol City back in February, Cowley had this to say about the youngster:
“Emile Smith Rowe is just a really lovely player, isn’t he? He has that ability to find space. He could find space in a telephone box. He speeds the play up for you and draws and commits and I think it would have been a brilliant performance if he had scored.”
“I am always going to be demanding of him because, to me, he is a Premier League player so I have to treat him like that and demand Premier League standards from him – in training and in games, day in and day out. It was a really good performance.”
In an interview with The National, Smith Rowe revealed that Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta had kept in touch with him during the lockdown.
On what Arteta has said to him:
“We have kept in touch during lockdown & we have gone through some clips. He has told me what I need to improve on. He said that it is probably the best thing for me to go out on loan to Huddersfield.”
On young players getting a chance under Arteta at Arsenal:
“You can see he has given the young players chances & that is something all young players should thrive off. When you see others playing, you want to push yourself & get in that position as well.”
On his future with Arsenal:
“I am obviously happy for all the other boys but I definitely want to go back & play as well. I think it will be great if more young players play. The main thing is to finish the season with Huddersfield as strong as I can & then go back to Arsenal in pre-season.”
