Arsenal have had a lot of joy by playing their young players this season and Emile Smith-Rowe has had his say on the club’s former players who have inspired him over the years.
What did he say?
The midfielder is part of the current crop of exciting and talented players to come through the Arsenal academy, and though his development was somewhat curtailed due to injury, he appears to be finding his feet once more on loan at Huddersfield Town.
Smith-Rowe has scored one and assisted three in a struggling Terriers side, and is getting regular starts so is likely enjoying his spell in Yorkshire more than his loan stint at RB Leipzig, making just three appearances for the German outfit last season.
The youngster has a positive outlook despite that, and views the recent opportunities given to fellow young players like Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah as a good sign for him.
Speaking to Football League World, he said:
“I think it’s great.
“Not just for me and the others, but for the club to help players to come through and get their opportunity.
“Me and Reiss (Nelson) are the same age so we used to play a lot together. Joe Willock and Eddie (Nketiah) were both older than us and then Bukayo Saka is two years younger and you can see how well he’s doing at the moment.”
Mikel Arteta has shown a willingness to invest faith and time into his young prospects, and since Smith-Rowe is impressing on loan he could get his chance to shine, and he may just be able to fulfil a key ambition of his.
“At Arsenal I was looking up to players like Dennis Bergkamp – at that age Jack Wilshere was just breaking into the team as well,” he added.
“At that age I was always looking up to players and hoping to follow their footsteps into the first team.”
Taking his chance
Smith-Rowe is undoubtedly benefitting from regular game time and his spell at Huddersfield could allow him to start delivering on the potential he has shown from an early age.
He has been given chances to impress in the Europa League previously, scoring two goals in four appearances in 2018/19, leading Martin Keown to describe him as a player with “plenty of pace” who likes to show for the ball in order to display his ability.
Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley has also been full of praise for the 19-year-old and he should take confidence from the things that are being said about him.
Arteta will likely give him a chance to impress when he returns and if he makes the most of that opportunity then he could accompany his friends in the first-team set-up.
Can you name all of these obscure Arsenal signings? Give it a go now!
After all, the Gunners’ have disappointed this term. They sit 10th in the league and have been knocked out of the Europa League, while Mesut Ozil, who plays in the same position as Smith-Rowe, has contributed just one goal and two assists this season.
Elsewhere, Arsenal fans have been reacting to Tony Pulis’ comments about another young player in the team…