Emile Smith Rowe displayed the qualities Mikel Arteta expected from Kai Havertz when he signed him from Chelsea in Arsenal's game against Luton. The academy graduate has given managers a welcome headache.
Mikel Arteta has made five changes since the draw with Manchester City, the most from one Premier League game to the next since 2021. It was Thomas Partey's first start since August and Emile Smith Rowe's third Premier League start of the season, and it was incredible. – This will be Reiss Nelson's first appearance since July 2020, although he spent a season on loan at Feyenoord.I asked about the impact before the match. significant changes It was clear that Arteta was aware of the risks, having been on his side in the past.
“Sometimes it's not so good. In some cases, those changes were unrelated and should have been the same. It's very hard to predict.”
There are seven games scheduled in April, all of which are 'finals', so Arteta will need to rely on some of his second-team players against the bottom of the table with games remaining this season. I thought. The risk paid off.
Luton completed a pass every minute of the first 15 minutes of the game, but it became clear that the Gunners were not having an easy win against fellow relegation candidates in the Hatters during this period of Arsenal's dominance. . . It took four and five minutes to start the game against Burnley and Sheffield United respectively, but it took just 25 minutes to block a few potshots from Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard to break Luton's resolve. .
Kai Havertz played a perfectly weighted pass to Odegaard, who deliberately sliced the ball inside the near post. However, the contribution of Smith Rowe, who stole the ball from Perry Ruddock Mpanzu in midfield and became the starting point of the attack, probably pleased Arteta more than anything else.
Martin Odegaard celebrates scoring for Arsenal with Kai Havertz.
Smith Rowe, once an academy graduate with a team-building ability on par with Bukayo Saka, has watched Arsenal go from strength to strength over the past few seasons, usually from the treatment table. Few, if any, Arsenal fans would include him in their first eleven, but his performance against Luton suggests he could be the player Arteta is counting on for Kai Havertz. There is.
Havertz, who currently plays in a false-nine role, was signed to replace Granit Xhaka, but the player and manager agreed due to his early season performances as he struggled to adapt to the left of the midfield three. Both were criticized. In his reaction to the German's lack of physicality, Arteta spoke of the qualities he expects from a player playing in his position, as shown by Smith Rowe in his assist for Arsenal's opening game and second goal at the Emirates. .
“You use the word 'physical', but who is more physical (when you put Granite and Kai together)?” He (Hafertz) is 1.91 meters (height). It depends on what the physical thing is. Physical means running, running backwards, running forward, tackling, and defending. He will definitely fit the qualities we have. ”
He should not have been allowed to reach the byline unchecked and once there, a relatively simple ball was sent across the face of goal and into his own net by Daiki Hashioka. But Arteta, more than most managers, it seems, values runs from his midfielders into the back of the defence, and this Smith Rowe dart is a great way to get opponents out with such physicality. It's a great example of how easily it can be torn apart.
The intervention for both goals was typical Smith Rowe. As an example of his qualities, an example that has made people question why Arteta is so desperate to sign Havertz, although Havertz has certainly proven to be a good acquisition. It was not Xhaka's role, but after he returned to the position in which he was most comfortable at Chelsea. was assigned to.
Smith Rowe showed signs of ring rust, having a bit of a poor touch at times and being robbed of his only great chance to score, despite Thomas Kaminski being forced to play decently – 1 That's expected considering he's only played 20 minutes of soccer since March – Save.
However, after a game in which Arteta expected his substitutes to do a job for the team before returning them to the bench against Brighton, and after a tough test ahead, Smith Rowe has given his manager something to think about. gave that.
He won't start in the Champions League or against Bayern Munich at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the solidity provided by Jorginho and Thomas Partey at the bottom of midfield, Declan Rice's midfield trio and Smith Rowe. And Odegaard may be the Gunners' best way to maintain a two-pronged challenge for the title.
Read more: Mikel Arteta has normalized Arsenal as title contenders, but it's extraordinary
