Emile Smith Rowe expected to play a prominent role for Arsenal next season

Emile Smith Rowe is expected to play a prominent role for Arsenal next season, according to Football.London. 

The Gunners have had a discussion with the Englishman’s representatives where it has been communicated that the player will be integrated into Mikel Arteta’s first team squad in the upcoming season as opposed to sending him out on loan.

The 20 year old will be a part of the first group of players to report back for pre-season training on August 14th. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Huddersfield Town and earned rave reviews during his time there. He scored two goals and provided three assists in 19 appearances for the Terriers. 

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has spoken about how excited he is to work with the player. He said:

“I am excited to work with him. I have been talking with him and I have followed him during his spell on loan. I think he’s someone who can be pretty impressive.”

He has previously spent time out on loan at Red Bull Leipzig. Smith Rowe is very highly rated by Arteta and the Arsenal transition team which includes technical director Edu Gaspar, assistant coach Freddie Ljungberg and academy chief Per Mertesacker. They see him as an attacking midfielder or box to box player in Arteta’s 4-3-3 which is expected to be the club’s default formation next season. 

It is understood that the only scenario where the young Englishman could consider going out on loan is if the Gunners were to sign both Willian and Coutinho this summer as that would limit the number of opportunities he would get to play first team football. Arsenal are believed to be close to securing the signing of Willian but have made it clear that they are currently not pursuing a deal for Philippe Coutinho.