Emery confident Smith Rowe will stay beyond January

Arsenal manager Unai Emery is confident that his club’s highly rated young attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe will remain at the club this month.

Smith Rowe was the subject of loan interest during the summer. After impressing during pre-season opportunities, Emery decided to include him in the club’s first-team plans for this season.

Impressive cup performances

The England U19 international has yet to make his Premier League debut. However, he has managed several cup appearances for the club. He has made the most of the opportunities given to him, scoring four goals in the process.

When he scored in the Europa League against Qarabag, Smith Rowe became Arsenal’s youngest scorer in a competitive match since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and also became the first player born after 2000 to score for the London giants.

Smith-Rowe certainly looks like he could be an Arsenal first-team regular in the near-future, especially with Aaron Ramsey set for a move to Juventus. However, Smith Rowe’s opportunity will probably not be in the next season or two, due to the more experienced talent Emery has available to him in midfield.

Could Smith-Rowe be set for a loan?

The youth player could easily be a first-team regular for most of the clubs in the top half of the Championship. This is an option that Emery should consider at the end of the season. It could allow the player to learn a lot and aid his development.

In the short term, Emery has said that Smith Rowe will not be leaving this month. As quoted by the Arsenal website, he said: “In the summer there was interest but now it is not our interest.

“I usually work with young players and give them the opportunity to work with us. Give them chances to play but only if we can get the victory. My responsibility is to work with them and here I want to do that. But each player is going to earn in his way more or less chances with his performances and his everyday work.”

Whether given the chance to impress at the Emirates, or plying his trade in the Championship for six months, one things looks certain: Smith-Rowe has all the attributes to be an Arsenal legend.

Featured image credit: Arsenal FC