Speaking after the latest England squad announcement, Gareth Southgate has claimed that Emile Smith Rowe was very close to getting his first international call-up.
Smith Rowe has been excellent for Arsenal in recent weeks. He was incredibly bright against Tottenham, while he’s consistently shown his talents throughout the past 12 months.
Inevitably, his performances have led to discussion about him getting an international call-up, but unfortunately for the 21-year-old, he fell short on this occasion.
However, Southgate says that he was indeed very close to getting into this side.
What’s been said?
Southgate shared his admiration for Smith Rowe, claiming that he was very close to getting into this team.
“He is a player we like a lot and he was very close to making this squad,” Southgate said, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
“We have brought a lot of youngsters up and that’s not always straightforward.
“Sometimes you want to bring them with the seniors and then they need to go back with the Under-21s. At this moment in time, unless we need to, I don’t want to bring any more players from the Under-21s. They have to earn that right over a longer period.
“This is a fairly settled squad. We know that some players aren’t playing as often as we would ideally like, but we’re only 6-7 games into the season.”
Has to step up
Smith Rowe may have been fantastic for Arsenal over the past year, but the fact of the matter is that he needs to be even better if he’s going to play for England.
The reality is that Smith Rowe plays in a position that is unbelievably competitive right now.
On the left, you have the likes of Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Harvey Barnes vying for a spot in the England team, while as a number 10, the likes of Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Dele Alli are all contenders.
Smith Rowe needs to find another gear if he’s going to make the England squad.
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