Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has hailed Emile Smith Rowe as the present and the future of the Gunners.
The midfielder has enjoyed a meteoric rise with the Gunners over the last few seasons having emerged as a key player under current boss Mikel Arteta.
Smith Rowe is currently Arsenal’s top goalscorer this season with his nine strikes in all competitions putting him clear of the likes of Bukayo Saka, Lacazette himself and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - who is now plying his trade with Spanish giants Barcelona.
The Frenchman is clearly a huge fan of his colleague’s work over the past couple of years having done little to hide his affection for the 21-year-old during a recent mid-season training camp in Dubai.
Whilst Smith Rowe was undergoing some stretching exercises, Lacazette was pictured by Arsenal's official channels embracing him and making some huge claims about the midfielder’s potential.
He said: “What a guy. My number 10. The future. The present and the future. What a player.”
Lacazette’s comments will certainly have both Arteta and Arsenal fans thinking, with the Gunners faced with somewhat of a selection dilemma for the remainder of the campaign.
Whilst Smith Rowe has been a stand-out for the north Londoners so far this season, his actual game time has been somewhat limited.
In each of the last four Premier League games, the Hale End academy graduate has started just one - that being the 0-0 stalemate with Burnley at the Emirates Stadium.
Elsewhere, summer arrival from Real Madrid Martin Odegaard has been named in the starting lineup for 15 out of Arsenal’s 19 Premier League games in which he has been available for including each of the last nine.
In that time, the Norwegian’s contributions are also respectable with three goals and three assists.
Intriguingly however, the pair were not able to influence the game having both started against Burnley - the Gunners appearing blunt in attack before the international break.
So whether Lacazette’s comments convince Arteta to hand more starting opportunities to Smith Rowe remains to be seen but it is clear that the Frenchman has a preference for his midfield creator.
