Mikel Arteta says Emile Smith Rowe can cope with the pressure of wearing Arsenal’s number 10 shirt despite having just half a season of regular first team football under his belt.
It was confirmed yesterday that the England under-21 international will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere, Robin van Persie and Dennis Bergkamp from next season after committing his long-term future to the club.
Smith Rowe has already spoken of his excitement of penning a new deal and the manager has now backed him to take his game to another level as one of the Gunners’ key players.
“I think he totally deserves that new contract,” Arteta told Arsenal.com.
“He has earned every right to be in the position where the club had to think about rewarding what he has done and he has shown his commitment to the football club.
“So when that relationship builds in the way that it is getting, that is a really strong and powerful message for everybody. We want and I want hungry, talented [players] who play with huge desire and Emile fits all of that.
“If that is the case and you are on board and you show that commitment, desire, quality and talent every single day, you are at the right club at the right moment, and I think Emile feels the same way.”
“He asked for [the No 10 shirt], so that shows you the ambition and desire. I prefer players who ask for more than maybe they can take but if they believe they can do it, don’t put a limit on it. When he asked me and asked the club that he would like to get that [number], okay, let’s go.
“We talked a little bit, we discussed it and he knows the consequences of that, but he feels prepared to do it and if he is prepared to do it, then I am going to be right behind him to try to make him as comfortable and as happy as possible to do what he wants to do.”
Smith Rowe’s deal comes quick off the heels of June’s contract extension for Kieran Tierney. The Scot was rewarded with a pay rise for his good form since joining from Celtic and is another figure who, in the eye’s of Arteta, is central to the club’s future.
“Absolutely there is another character in this dressing room that transmits every value that I would like to transmit to the club and our fans [and it is Kieran],” Arteta said.
“Again, it is young, hungry, talented, and people with huge desire and again he has all four ingredients – and he didn’t want to talk about anything other than staying here.
“He had a really, really good season after a really difficult start at the club and I really value people that when things aren’t going for them, they don’t give up. Kieran didn’t give up, he needed support and I think the club gave him a lot of support, but he was really willing to turn that situation around and prove people wrong if people were doubting him.
“That character, I think it shows on the pitch – when anything happens that is not going for us, you don’t give up, you just raise your level, try to be better and transmit that to the rest of the team so they all believe.
“Kieran has this capacity, and Emile as well, to lift the crowd with an action, Gabi Martinelli has this capacity – and this is something you either have or you don’t have.”
It’s interesting that he mentioned Martinelli without having the need to, hopefully we will see more of him this season! COYG
If there is one thing I can praise Martinelli for, it’s his fighting spirit. He still lacks the technical skill and vision of Saka or ESR, but hopefully he can build on that.
Exactly.. Gabi is the perfect example of a diamond in the rough. He’s got all the ingredients of a top class forward, just needs polishing which, in his case, will definitely come with regular game time. Physically he needs to become slightly more imposing and then he’ll be unstoppable.
He gets so little game time that it is hard to develop without real match situations. He looks a little desperate in recent times because he knows there are just a few minutes to impress.
I hope so too. Amazing talent. Does anyone know how his preseason has been? I haven’t had a chance to properly watch a full preseason match yet.
He’s in the Olympics!
He’s at the Olympics with Brazil but wasn’t in their matchday squad yesterday (they beat Germany 4-2).
Martinelli is #35 – if Torreira leaves, I would like to see him get that #11 shirt.
And then Odegaard or Madisson #8. (Yes I got carried away).
I got far too excited about Maddison this week. But then Ornstein and James crushed my dreams. It would be so cool to get him. I’ve always thought he’s a brilliant player. I still think if we can go +£30m for a backup goalkeeper then funds could have been made available for Maddison with some reshuffling.
Man, I hate this time of year. Way too much heartbreak. And it’s especially annoying when the whole story could be baloney and I’m grieving something that never really existed.
With ESR getting no.10 Maddison dream is very well over.
Maybe. But I think they both could have fitted in. Maddison can play as an 8 and ESR can play from a wide position.
It’s the hope that kills….
Yes, I agree. Although I think that raises the question of whether we should be going £30m or more for a backup ‘keeper? A quality replacement for Leno posssibly, depending upon the view of Leno’s abilities, but to contemplate as Arsenal appear to be doing spending such a huge sum (for us) on a backup for him when it could risk strengthening other positions seems an odd allocation of resources to me.
We need signings that improve us now. Not that I’m not happy with Lokonga and Taveres but they don’t do that. Neither does Ramsdale.
That’s why Maddison was so exciting.
Lokonga will surprise a few. He will more impact in his first season than Guendouzi did.
That lad strengthens the first team. You’ll see.
I’m sure he’ll do great. But we finished eighth last season. And the season before. You can’t expect a 21 year old to carry the burden of pushing for top six, or four, where we should be aiming for.
It’s no criticism of Lokonga. But we need senior players with the know how of how to improve this club immediately.
Yes, that’s right in my opinion. Maddison would have been (and may yet still be – who knows) a good signing that would strengthen us for the coming, pivotal, season.
Without having seen either of them play, how can you come to that conclusion?
If this club spends even £20m+ on Ramsdale, I doubt it’s for him to be a backup GK. Then again, our record senior signing was used as a back-up winger and our record youth signing is currently below benchwarmer status so you never know…
If we’re aiming to sign a young homegrown backup GK, why not bid for Josef Bursik. He’s 21 and has Championship experience so he would cost considerably less than Ramsdale. It’s not like we’re below Championship signings either as we were going to sign David Raya last year.
I’m a little surprised by your opinion of Maddison. He always seemed to me the classic overrated English player. I’m not saying he’s crap–anyone who gets that sort of praise is a good player. And I am absolutely not blaming him for getting what, I believe, is more praise than he deserves. What I mean is that every creative move, every clever pass, drew oohs and aahs as if he were the first player to have done that since the 1996 Euros. Mason Mount is another–very good player, but not quite as good as England supporters want to believe. Ironically,… Read more »
I’m convinced he rates Martinelli, that name drop jumped out at me also
Possibly why there hasn’t been any move for forwards this summer?
Laca stays for another season until Balogun & Martinelli are ready to start? I wouldn’t be against that.
I was suprised lol
I feel he is being lined up for a central striker role with his heading ability better used in the centre rather than left forward. Also his build up play is more instinctive and less refined than Saka or ESR, he very much depends on those around him to get into positions where he can get 1v1 on a player that he so loves
Let’s hope so, the lad deserves a chance.
I’m sick to the back teeth of having to watch that fat Chelsea cunt wobble about because his enormous fucking salary has to be justified in order to somehow absolve those who signed him.
The consequences? If you get the number 10 shirt you get benched or?
What? Do you know what a number 10 is in football?
Do you know what a joke is?
Still bitter about that Ozil fiasco? I understand. It was a disgrace how the club handled it. Leaves a bad taste.
The way the club handled the Mkhitaryan-Baku fiasco should have been an indicator of things to come. Özil’s on-pitch issues aside, it was pretty shady for the club to leak to the press that he refused a supposedly voluntary pay-cut. He ended up being correct for being suspicious of the club.
SR seems mature and I think he can handle ‘it’. I also think shirt numbers don’t mean as much as they used to (where does 14 play?😉)….next few weeks are the defining time in our short/mid term future. God, I hope we get it right…..might just hide behind the sofa for a month…..
14 plays attack going by Henry and Auba and my grandson. 🙂
The fact that you left out the quotes of Arteta listing all the things on Smith-Rowe that are enormous is a travesty.
“Follow in the footsteps of Mesut, Dennis and Jack” .
I would prefer if the other chap mentioned in that sentence wasn’t placed anywhere near that list.
Why? RVP was still a great player for us.
Well said.
People hating on the guy for wanting to join a club with a better chance of winning the title clearly have zero ambition in their own jobs. Assuming they actually have jobs.
The fact that thanks to Kroenke, Bishop’s Stortford Football Club are probably more business savvy and ambitious than Arsenal Football Club, isn’t RVP’s fault.
Or any other big names who have left us recently having grown disillusioned by the ownership.
Time to bury the hatchet and move on.
Holding on to grudges blinds us to the beauty around us.
Tell that to the Spud fans still livid about Campbell joining us two decades later. Literally just a few weeks ago, some Spud idiot recorded himself verbally abusing Campbell at a restaurant. Every single spud fan defended the guy behind the camera. Literally every single one. I’ve never seen such unified and searing hatred from Arsenal fans, even towards guys like Cole or Fabregas. Repeatedly and publicly insulting a retired footballer unprovoked just because he left your club is perfectly okay behaviour according to the toilet dwellers. It’s just a reminder that deep down, Spuds are still a jealous and… Read more »
I’d drop Ozil before RVP tbh but that could be my Dutch heritage speaking
I can’t understand the RVP hate, the same way as I can’t understand the Ozil hate.
Without then and their goals and assists, this club would have been where it’s at now a lot earlier. Mid table.
Front line with Gabi, ESR, Saka, Balogun, with youth and experience mixed in behind, I love to see the young lads make it.
Got a great feeling about ESR in the No.10 shirt – it’s been way too long since we had a player that was loved, talented and consistent all at the same time in this shirt!
Loved? Yes. Talented? Yes. Consistent? Hopefully.
Personally I’m going to let him build his #10 status, not set him up to be knocked down.
Fuck you Viilla!
“The consequences of the 10 shirt” sounds like a weird attempt to translate between languages. That or there really is a curse…<suspenseful music plays>
Ha ha, I thought the same thing. Surely there’s a Spanish word Arteta was translating in his head that means something closer to “expectations” than “consequences”??
Could also be something like “responsibility”
Or “pressure”.
The 9 is our cursed shirt.
I think he means that the consequences of having the 10 means more responsibility, more scrutiny, teammates and fans looking at you to do something and to do it every game.
Rather than a kid with a youth number we’re all happy just to see play.
anytime i remember Gallas wore the #10, it makes me cringe
Yeah, that was fucking ridiculous.
What are the consequences of being an Arsenal manager right now?
none if ur name is Arteta
Employment wise? Apparently none
Health wise? Arteta looks to have aged a decade since he joined😳
“ knows the consequences ”?
It’s not his first language nor mine. But isn’t that a term for a negative or not convenient situation?
What happened to the well used and more positive “knows the responsibility that comes with no 10 shirt”?
No wonder the boys are lost in tactics trying to decrypt Arteta’s strategies
Come on. You can think Arteta is a crap manager or the greatest since Herbert Chapman, but it has nothing to do with his ability to speak English.
> I prefer players who ask for more than maybe they can take
Yeah, sounds demoralising almost.
This thing about shirt numbers. Back in the day, 2 was a RB, 3 a LB, 5 and 6 CB, 4 a DM, 7 a AM, 11 a LM, 8 a RM, 10 a F and 9 a CF. I’m pleased to see that Arsenal are seemingly looking to reinstate these traditions, but by bit. Long may it continue. Likewise, all long or all short sleeves – the Captain always made the choice prior to kick off. That needs to return. I would also like to see a return to the club tie, grey flannels and navy club blazer, with… Read more »
* bit by bit.
If Ozil had left last summer like Arsenal wanted, we probably would have given the vacant #10 shirt to Willian when he joined.
So you’re saying he was just protecting the number 10 shirt from semi-retired mercenaries?
#ThankYouMesut☝👌 🙏
Arsenal didn’t want Ozil to leave.
Arteta wanted Ozil to leave.
Big difference.
Why is it that Arteta constantly chose Ozil and then suddenly for no apparent reason he was totally sidelined. I genuinely believe that Arteta was not responsible and there were other reasons. Hopefully we will find out truth one day. I really do not believe Arteta was responsible for it.
Because Ozil had the temerity to question where the Covid pay cut monies would be heading and Arteta, with his tongue firmly wedged up Kroenke’s backside, took umbrage.
Plus, of course, he (Ozil) probably wasn’t prepared to cut inside and pass sideways and backwards for 90+
Either way, he was dropped by Arteta – and the rest, up until the ESR gamble on Boxing Day, is history.
The #10 shirt feels like a lot of pressure for a 20 year old (he’s 20 unt he’s 21 and that’s it) but if any of our young players can handle that pressure then it’s defo ESR
Arteta and Smith Rowe…class acts, both of them.
One out of two, mate. Half marks.
Keeping him hungry and reminding him of what it means to stay motivated for that spot, that it means more than a pay check. I like it. And I love ESR for living up to it
Lessons both the owner and the manager could use…..
Make KT captain.