Emile Smith Rowe has been praised by former Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette following his performance for England at the under-21 European championships. The young Three Lions took on the Czech Republic in their opening group stage clash where Smith Rowe came off the bench to score.
That goal in a 2-0 victory saw him rewarded with a start for the next game against Israel. Newcastle's Anthony Gordon netted the opener in the first half with Smith Rowe getting on the score sheet again with just over 20 minutes to play.
After combining with Angel Gomes, the Hale End graduate fired in a brilliant strike from the edge of the box to double England's advantage. The 22-year-old endured a troubling 2022/23 campaign with a groin problem, which needed surgery to fix, plaguing the majority of his season and resulting in him playing just 241 minutes across four competitions.
Time away with the national team could be perfect for the forward to get back into Mikel Arteta's first-team plans and he has now been heavily endorsed by former teammate Lacazette. Posting on his Instagram story, the Frenchman recorded a replay of Smith Rowe's goal with the caption, "What a player [three heart eye emojis]".
Alongside his injury issues, the form of the other Arsenal attackers also kept him out of the team. In his last call-up to the national team before the Euros, Smith Rowe opened up on his difficult season which included an England message which seems to again apply currently.
"I’m really desperate to be honest," he said in March when asked about how badly he wanted to get back into Arsenal's starting XI. "The team are doing really well and it’s obviously something I want to be a part of. I’m working hard every day. Coming away with England is minutes that I really need. I’ve been struggling with this injury since I was 18 or 19, just before I went on loan to RB Leipzig.
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"I was quite low at the beginning. I’ve never had surgery before. It’s been tough, but I’m glad it’s all sorted now. I don’t feel any pain. I just need to kick on." Arteta made sure to carefully manage the minutes of Smith Rowe amid concerns over his fitness or possibly aggravating the injury.
In the same month as Smith Rowe's own comments, the Gunners boss explained what he had to do to get back into the team and why he wasn't appearing as often as he may like. Arteta said: "He knows how much we love him, and we know how much we missed him and how much we need his qualities.
"And now he needs to prove it, he needs to prove how much he wants to win, and how much he's going to contribute to this team to be better and win. And he's going to have to show that to get in the team.
"I think we have to manage his load, but for sure he's in a position where we can throw him in the team at any moment. And then it's about how he's coping with the team in general and whether we have to take him off or to use him in the last few minutes of the game."
