Emile Smith Rowe is one of Arsenal’s up and coming stars. The 19-year-old played the second half of the season on loan at Huddersfield Town and played a vital role in helping them avoid relegation.
But is he ready to make a difference for Arsenal’s first team next season? This article will look at his strengths, weaknesses and whether he’s ready to compete for a place in Arsenal’s team next season.
ESR’s strengths
The thing I loved about Smith Rowe when he first arrived at Town was that he has the hard to quantify quality that makes you sit forward when he’s on the ball. He’s a flair player that can make things happen when he’s on the pitch.
His biggest strength, in my opinion, is his ability to take the ball and drive forward. He plays without fear and looks to make a positive contribution every time he’s in possession.
He’s eager to get on the ball and links up well with attacking players around him most of the time. There were games recently where Smith Rowe was the only one in a Huddersfield Town shirt that looked to be trying to make things happen. Which is great for him but sad that a Championship team were relying so heavily on a 19-year-old loan player.
His first touch is also a major strength. He has a good awareness of the defenders around him and can guide his first touch into pockets of space. This means he looks like he’s got more time on the ball than other players and seems to glide past defenders.
It’s also worth pointing out his physical strength too. Stepping up from youth football to the Championship means adjusting to tougher treatment from defences. He is big enough to hold them off and doesn’t get easily knocked off the ball. I’d say this is rare for a player of his age.
ESR has taken his fair share of whacks on the ankle and shins while at Town. I like the way he doesn’t complain too much or get involved with squabbles. He picks himself up and gets his revenge with the ball at his feet.
Smith Rowe has looked at his best when Town have played a deep-lying counter attacking system of play. His pace and skill make it easy for him to burst forward and exploit gaps when the opposition over commit when going forward.
Weaknesses
The most obvious area for Smith Rowe to work on is his finishing. Specifically, he needs to work on having composure when under pressure. I’m sure he can stroke the ball into the top corner in training nine times out of ten but it’s different in a game.
He often would beat several players, burst into the box and then fluff his lines once the hard work was done. Obviously, he finished with aplomb when it really mattered as he scored the winning goal against West Brom. That goal effectively sealed Huddersfield Town’s survival, so he’s already improving on shooting under pressure.
Another thing he could get better at is consistency. There were a few games where he would go missing for periods of time and struggle to make an impact. This is typical for attacking players but he would be an improved player if he made sure he positioned himself where he can impact the game.
I’m terms of his positioning, Smith Rowe would be more effective as a number ten if he stayed higher up the pitch and waited for the ball to come to him. Out of a desire to make things happen, he sometimes drops deep to collect the ball from the defence but then is too far from goal for his ability on the ball to open up the opposition in a meaningful way.
Rather than a weakness, I think an area of development for Smith Rowe would be to experience playing in a wide attacking position. He’s great as a number ten but I think he has the attributes to play on the wing. Often he would drop into these areas to create an overload anyway, but starting out wide would mean he had more space to exploit and I think he could flourish as a left winger that cuts inside.
My final criticism is actually more of a failure of the players around him but ESR sometimes wasn’t on the same wavelength as the rest of the team. Attacks would often breakdown because he’d play a throughball for a player that had not anticipated the pass and missed the opportunity. In a better team, with more talented players around him, I can see this being less of a problem.
So is he good enough to play for Arsenal?
My honest opinion is that Smith Rowe would benefit from another season out on loan before competing for a place in Arsenal’s starting lineup. While it’s clear he has the ability to become a brilliant player there are still areas to work on. His rawness isn’t a problem for a team like Huddersfield Town but he would benefit from more game time before playing at the top end if the Premier League.
If his game time is limited at Arsenal then his development is likely to stall, so he should go to a team where he can play every week.
Obviously, I think he should join Huddersfield Town for a season-long loan but he’s probably too good for us. Either a top-end Championship or, more likely, a bottom-half Premier League team would be a good option.
One of the newly promoted teams would be a good choice as they will be desperate for players that can influence a game in the way Smith Rowe can and may be willing to agree to those minimum game time requirements that often get added to loan agreements.
Thanks for sharing.
An Arsenal Fan
To be honest I Hope Town can retain ESR.The pedigree of the Town manager will only make him a better player.The training facility at Huddersfield is second to none.I agree he needs another year in the championship perhaps Arsenal will let him go
It’s nice to hear an objective review of ESR, he’s been unlucky with injuries and I think he would have been ready for Arsenal first-team action next season had he not missed many games over the last few years. We need him especially with the Ozil situation, so from that perspective, I would back Arteta to start putting him in. Saka and Martinelli arguably were below Smith Rowe in the pecking order at the beginning of the season, but they have both excelled. In saying that perhaps one more season out on loan would do him good, at a side competing for promotion in the championship. As long as they don’t do a Leeds and not play him.