Emile Smith Rowe has been a big miss despite Arsenal’s strong form in this first portion of the season. The England international underwent surgery on a groin issue and the wide playmaker is determined to get back for the match against West Ham United on Boxing Day.
When the Arsenal youth academy graduate was asked by Sky Sports, he said: “Hopefully by the first game after the World Cup [I’ll be back]. I’m actually out here doing rehab, today was my day off, I’m back training tomorrow.
“I’m back on the pitch, it’s going well.” Where Emile Smith Rowe will return in the side remains to be seen and Gabriel Martinelli does not look like he would be willingly giving up his role anytime soon.
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There have been suggestions Smith Rowe’s future lies more centrally, where many of his earlier appearances began. He has played in both the number ten position and in the left eight role which Granit Xhaka currently occupies.
The latter is an area of need for Arsenal in the transfer window and Brazilian Danilo, who can also compete for Thomas Partey’s position, is understood by football.london to be a player the Gunners may revive their interest for this January. That said, if Smith Rowe could show his quality in central midfield, some may argue the likes of newly appointed sporting director Edu should be focusing efforts elsewhere.
For me, I struggle to see the evidence so far that Smith Rowe’s future lies in the role currently occupied by Xhaka. This isn’t to say he could never do it, that would be naïve, but so far the examples on offer do not give me the encouragement to commit to it as a viable option.
There are seven examples of Smith Rowe playing in this position at the senior level for Arsenal. In these seven fixtures, Arsenal won just one, the 1-0 away win against Burnley last season which was courtesy of a Martin Odegaard free kick.
He was first used here in the second leg Europa League semi-final aggregate defeat to Villarreal. Having played as a false nine in the away defeat in Spain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returned for the home tie but Smith Rowe couldn’t create the opportunities or threaten to help turn the tide.
Subsequent opportunities after the Burnley victory occurred in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, a 0-0 draw with Burnley at the Emirates Stadium and a 3-0 defeat to Spurs where he came off the bench. His last minutes in the role came when coming off the bench at Old Trafford this season. This switch along with Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira’s arrival saw Manchester United exploit the space in behind and hit the Gunners on the counter to claim all three points.
So far, Smith Rowe lacks the box-to-box ability that Xhaka has provided. The Swiss midfielder has influenced the game in both thirds, and Arsenal have not looked vulnerable.
For Smith Rowe to successfully occupy this position, he would need to improve his defensive application. That said, the introduction of Oleksandr Zinchenko could be very beneficial for Smith Rowe and his positioning might enable Smith Rowe to play higher up and impact the game without having the defensive concerns were it, Kieran Tierney, behind him.
Ultimately this discussion boils down to an agreed positive. Arsenal have a plethora of options right now and Mikel Arteta has shown to successfully transition players into new roles, there’s nothing to say Smith Rowe definitely couldn’t, however, based on the present evidence I struggle to see his future in this left eight position.
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