Emile Smith Rowe says regular advice from Alex Lacazette is helping him build his confidence at first team level.
Starting his fifth consecutive game for Arsenal in the Premier League, 19-year-old produced another influential performance in the number 10 role as Mikel Arteta’s side recorded a 3-0 win over Newcastle.
Bukayo Saka’s strike, assisted by Smith Rowe, and a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did the damage and after the match, the youngster answered questions from Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville on Sky Sports Monday Night Football.
Here’s what he had to say…
On an enjoyable second half…
We all enjoyed it so much. We’re all coming together as a team. We’re really happy for the win today, got to be happy with the three points.
On what’s going well…
I feel like we’re all coming together as a group. We’ve had some meetings off the pitch and we’re much stronger now as a team. Everyone is getting fit, we’re getting together on the training pitch. The whole group is so much stronger and it’s showing on the pitch.
On having to bide his time for his chances…
Yeah, I’ve been a bit unfortunate with injuries but the manager is giving me a chance and I’m so grateful. I just hope to repay him, every opportunity that I get I just want to show him I’m good enough to be in this team.
On his loan spells helping…
It’s been massive. I’ve been abroad and I’ve been in the Championship and they’ve developed me so much on and off the pitch. I feel like I’ve matured into a stronger and more confident person. They’ve definitely helped me in my journey.
On Arsenal’s youngsters coming through the ranks together…
We’ve all played together from a young age. Obviously, Gabriel Martinelli came from abroad but to be on the pitch with the young boys, it’s a dream for us. From a young age, we’ve already had that link up so when we get onto the pitch with each other it really shows.
On who has helped him settle at Arsenal…
I think Lacazette. Obviously playing together with him up top, I feel like he’s helped me so much on and off the pitch. He gives me so much confidence. As we link-up and play together, he talks to me a lot. I’d probably say he’s spoken to me the most off the pitch.
On creating 10 chances since he came into the team and Bruno Fernandes being the only player with more…
I look up to him as a player. His stats are crazy and the way he plays is really good. It’s a good achievement, I guess.
On what Arteta asks of him…
He tells me to play free, to play my man and to be confident. If I make a mistake, carry on. Forget about it. For me, to have a manager like Mikel who has played for the club gives me so much confidence. I’m so happy to be getting opportunities.
On playing one-touch football…
Yeah, growing up, I’ve always tried to play one touch. I feel like if I know what I’m going to do before I get the ball, then why not play with one touch. I try to do it as much as possible to keep the ball moving.
Such immense potential. The one touch passing and off the ball movement remind me a bit of Rosicky.
He’s got an immense way of taking the ball in his stride, his first touch being part of a fluid movement that propels him forward without breaking his stride. He did it for the Saka goal against WBA and again a few times tonight. Did Arteta know how good this lad is or has he taken everyone by surprise? I’ll be honest, he was a bit of an unknown quantity for me. I remember him scoring a few beauties in pre season like three seasons ago then it all went a little eerily quiet. I certainly didn’t expect this after… Read more »
Except never at any age an interviewer would have asked these teasing questions to a giggling Rosicky. Can you imagine?? ESR leaves his heavy metal on the field, and off it he’s just do goddamn adorable.
I was trying to remember who his running style reminded me of, you’re right, Little Mozart!
I miss that guy so much. ESR makes the loss easier to take.
This is going to get me stick but for me its Paul Scholes.
Without the ginergness or general skullduggery.
He actually knows how to make a tackle. Most of Scholes attempted tackles ended up as red cards.
Apart from the fact he has end product
Fucking excellent ESR. Keep that shit up.
Classy
There’s real quality coming through at the Arsenal. Balogun. ESR. Saka. Nelson (once he realizes that he’s good enough to dribble past anyone). Saliba.
Hopefully we can add extra depth/quality and become a real force again.
Except for Saka, i don’t think they are world beaters but definitely better than the likes of willian.
Icing on the cake for me would’ve been if he had pretended he never heard of Bruno.
Seeing it in your comment is enough. It is so refreshing seeing humility and calmness in these Arsenal youngsters. ESR, Saka, Martinelli. They are all such good characters. That is going to be a difference maker in the future.
Who down thumbed this comment!
I got hayters. They would literally downvote me for wishing an Arsenal player a speedy recovery from injury. It’s happened.
Die a hero or live long enough to be a villain.
Mesuit who 😂
Who’s Mesuit?
A Jesuit Messi no doubt
I think I forgot mesuit at the cleaners…
Love to hear his stuff. Well done Lacca .And overjoyed to see another Hale end kid make it into our team especially one so skilled as ESR . I worried he was to brittle but he keeps coming up with one massive performance after another. Defense looks good Auba and Laca firing again. Early days but ESR and SAKA look like genuine world beaters and suddenly you look at the squad and see some solid players there .
These lads (saka, Eddie, Flo, ESR) had the right grounding including their feeding ,so they’re not brittle. They are elite lads, their agent is a common factor…
I have been on ESR hype train since 2018. And I am sure many of you were on as well.
I was moderately gutted to see him leave to Huddersfield for loan. Jan 20′ was the bad time where we still had no creative midfielders and were loaning out a technically and athletically sound player.
Agreed but I’d say he needed that loan just as balogun needs one to prove himself (it has to be the right choice mind you and if he signs). I’d send willock and Nelson out on loan too to a prem side so they can play consistently.
We might end up becoming a bit short of players if we let them all go on loan. Willock agreed, Balogun loan would be a surprise, the rest have had plenty loan time already.
This guy is real quality.
He is ready to play.
I don’t Arsenal should go far a No. 10 who has to play. They should get someone good enough to compete with ESR.
That way, he can develop even further in the coming years.
Love Smith-Rowe, makes the game look easy.
Give him the No10 shirt if he wants it.
Great players make players around them look better – ESR 100% does this, and long may it continue.
Seemed like he had a bet he could say “pitch” fifty times in one interview.
Stop being such a pitch!
Sounds stupitch to me!
Hehe, i guess a few people lost that bet. Or they think this was some weird form of criticism.
As well as his skills on the pitch, I also really like his attitude off it. ESR and most of the current batch of youngsters that have come into the team seem to really appreciate the chances they are given. They want to take advantage of the experience around them and thrive for improvement. You can tell they want to make the most of each opportunity they are given.
What can I say?…he is obviously an incredible YOUNG talent, and the question is what does that young mean in the narrative?..well I think whatever we are seeing now is the beginning, and we can all imagine what he will be like a few years now if he can be this good this young?.. Well, I feel like a proud dad, proud as a peacock bcos he is one of our very own, thats what!😁
Smith-Rowe plays like Kaka.
Kaka played like Smith Rowe
This is something special
Laca did not get joy with a goal today but he provides so much more for us in attacking third. Several times he made one time passes over to right side playing the ball into space for the wide players to run in on. But also his control work of the ball within the box is about the best in the team at the moment. I wouldn’t be thinking of dropping him out at the moment. He is also clearly influential with the younger players but also he has developed an understanding with ESR. These sort of relationships Arteta needs… Read more »
The other player of course that can play up top is Martinelli but he needs to be eased in and he also needs to curtail himself a bit bc like many young players he’s in 110% but that can be at detriment to longer term with injuries.
Some of the quick give and go short one touch passing today between players looks encouraging. Simple touches to move the ball forward around the press instead of conservative backward passes.
but we must also remember this is Newcastle not entirely a team full on confidence at the moment so a bit of caution taking too much away from today’s performance.
Wait… He is just 19? I thought he was about 23. Wow, talk about promising
Who should get the number 10 shirt? Talk of Auba letting Laca have it. I’d either give it to Smith Rowe or use it as a carrot for Balogun to sign or a new attacking midfielder in this window or more likely the summer.
Given none of those guys plays the number 10 role, ESR would make sense.
Why would Laca take it when he already has the no.9?
Good job Laca. That’s what’s expected from senior players like you. Mentor those going boys.
*young boys
“I feel like if I know what I’m going to do before I get the ball, then why not play with one touch.”
This made me happy 🙂
He is such a complete player and will only get better, hard to find a better 10 for us, give him the shirt.
This is joyous!
ESR gives me the impression he is constantly thinking about where he should be in the next 5 seconds, to maximize his usefulness to the team’s movement of the ball. This is a quality – hard to teach – that separates the good from the great. Imagine having a team full of players who do that for 90 minutes. KT is in this class too, not sure, maybe Saka, Martinelli…
Love this kid. He’s got so much about him to like. Great to see he’s getting a consistent run and fingers crossed he can carry on keeping away from the injuries. He’s a really smart player, he’s shown that since he broke through a couple of years ago. A mate of mine who supports Huddersfield was saying last season that he was clearly better than everyone else on the pitch in the Championship (which we kind of knew anyway) and it just made me even more excited to see him in the starting lineup for us again. Given he’s an… Read more »
He is the perfect reason for any young aspiring youth player at Arsenal to keep looking forward and do the right things. Ahem… Balogun. I really think this kid could be a student of the game. Always finding spaces in the middle of a triangle of opposition players. Then one two and it is easy for other players to rebound with him and encourages them to move into better positions. You can see how much other players trust him that they will get the ball back as long as they help Emile move into a better position. The difference in… Read more »
I think we must give Mikel massive credit for allowing Emile to express himself and break with the structure. When Mikel took over we had so many players who needed to be told where to be on the pitch, think Mustafi, Xhaka, and players like Ceballos and Pepe, needed to be educated in positional play. Hence the two touch football, in order to get the team over the halfway line and into the attacking third. However without the necessary personnel we could have that creativity to create space against teams who increasings have made a low block and in terms… Read more »
Laca Saka Rowe the three star at Arsenal
Give him the 10 shirt
And a whooping contract extension