Emile Smith Rowe: ‘The Croydon De Bruyne’

Arsenal’s vacant number 10 shirt has finally been filled, and by none other than our Hale End hero, the ‘Croydon De Bruyne’, Emile Smith Rowe. The 20-year-old recently put pen to paper on a 5-year-deal at the Emirates, running till 2026, extinguishing any doubts over his future at the club. 

Arteta’s Aim

“As we all saw last season, Emile is an intelligent player with excellent ability,” Arteta said. “His sharpness on the turn and exceptional vision have already made him a key player for us. His attitude and willingness to learn have also been very impressive. Huge credit to our team in our academy who have given Emile a great education and have worked superbly to help with his development through the age groups.”

An academy product since 10-years-old, Smith Rowe was subject to two big money bids from Aston Villa, reportedly around £25m-£30m, but the new contract will have done nothing but squashed any rumour of the former England under-17 World Cup champion’s departure.

Smith Rowe reignited Arsenal’s creative spark in December of last year, when Arteta’s faith in him was made evident after handing him a series of starts in the red and white.

Assigned with the name ‘the Croydon De Bruyne’, the Arsenal faithful have taken well to the 20-year-old, becoming our first number 10 since the departure of his predecessor, Mesut Ozil. 

Since Boxing Day 2020, Smith Rowe started all but four in the Gunners’ redemption, ending a run of seven league games without a win, with a run of seven games without a loss. He returned four assists and two goals in 20 league games, a modest return for the youngster, but a sign of things to come.

Analysis of the Croydon De Bruyne

Splashes of Ozil’s ability ooze out of Smith Rowe, almost as if he was the apprentice to the former Arsenal talisman. A natural at finding space and receiving the ball between the lines of the opposition’s midfield and defence, his absence was visually detrimental to the side. It’s no coincidence that our fortunes on the pitch were uplifted when Smith Rowe was on the pitch. In the image below, we see the effect he has on ‘breaking the lines’, relieving the pressure on the defence and midfield. It was notable when Arteta opted to play without a player in the number 10 role as our attacks lost fluidity and therefore attacking chances were seldom.

The two images, one pre-Smith Rowe’s arrival in the 1st team, the latter post arrival. This is just one of many instances in which we were left toothless in attack, and without a cog in the machine our goal output suffered dearly. 

His ability to both run with the ball and advance behind the lines gives me an impression of Aaron Ramsey, as highlighted here in our 4-0 demolition job at the Hawthorns.

The move above perfectly demonstrates his intentful runs beyond the strikers, in this instance Lacazette, creating a nightmare scenario for the West Brom defenders. Saka also glided his way through to finish off a neat and tidy ‘Arsenal-esque of the past’ move.  All too often moves like this have not come to fruition due to the lack of a creator’s presence, but the effervescence of Smith Rowe combats that, providing us with an energetic and innovative attacking fluidity.

Arsenal’s new number 10 has an arsenal of skills at his disposal, being made more evident by more games he plays. Albeit, it is probably too much weight to have Smith Rowe as the sole creator in the side. With Odegaard and Buendia off the table, I’d personally like to see us chance our hand at West Brom’s Matheus Pereira, who could share the burden with Smith Rowe. 

Another win for the Hale End academy however, as Smith Rowe’s prevalence is here to stay.