Derby boss Wayne Rooney attempted to sign Emile Smith Rowe on loan from Arsenal - but admits he didn't even get close.
Manchester United legend Rooney is a big fan of the young England international and after taking the reins at Pride Park got on the phone to Arsenal and attempted to entice Smith Rowe to Derby for a season.
Smith Rowe had just been on loan at Huddersfield, where he had performed well at the John Smith's Stadium and Rooney was keen to see whether Mikel Arteta and co. were ready to offload the 21-year-old for another season of Championship football.
But unfortunately for Rooney, Arteta had been equally impressed with Smith Rowe during his development year in West Yorkshire and was ready to give the youngster a chance to prove himself in the Arsenal first team.
"I think he is a fantastic young player," said Rooney of Smith Rowe, discussing the Arsenal star on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, ahead of the Gunners' 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace. "He is actually a player that I enquired about when I first went in as manager at Derby County, I tried to bring him in on loan. It didn't get close after I enquired, and then a week later he was in Arsenal's first team."
Smith Rowe has made 29 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this campaign and has found the target 10 times, assisting a further two goals. But he was unable to inspire the Gunners against Palace on Monday.
Arteta said after the defeat: "From the beginning, we were not at the races. When you come here you have to compete. You have to win duels and second balls and be aggressive and we were none of those and on top of that we were really poor on the ball."
