Emile Smith-Rowe could be a pivotal player for Arsenal with Danny Murphy comparing the young playmaker to Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish, speaking to talkSPORT (4 January, 12.50pm).
It’s no coincidence Arsenal have embarked on their best run of results this season – three successive Premier League wins and eight goals scored – since Mikel Arteta thrust a London-born 20-year-old in at the deep end.
Smith-Rowe has had an immediate and transformative impact on Arsenal’s fortunes, providing the verve, speed and incision they were so badly lacking in the final third.
The academy graduate inspired the Boxing Day demolition of Chelsea, sparkled against Brighton and dovetailed beautifully with Bukayo Saka during Saturday’s 4-0 triumph at West Brom.
And, with his socks hanging low and his potential sky high, Murphy sees similarities between Smith-Rowe and arguably the division’s most in-form player – £100 million-rated Jack Grealish.
“What a young player (Smith-Rowe) is,” says the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.
“He’s been thrust into a pressurised situation in the Premier League and he has made such an impact.
“He’s got good touch, great awareness, threatens the goal, doesn’t mind running without the ball (and is) physically capable as well.
“He reminds me a little bit of a mix between (former Arsenal schemer) Alexander Hleb, with his close control and great dribbling skills, and a little bit Grealish-y – and not just because his socks are rolled down to his ankles!
“The way he goes past people, I thought he was brilliant against West Brom. He could be pivotal for Arsenal.”
With Smith-Rowe, Saka and the returning Gabriel Martinelli finally being given a run of games by the previously under-fire Arteta, Arsenal have shot out of the relegation battle and within touching distance of the top seven.
Furthermore, Smith-Rowe’s introduction appears to have coaxed the best out of the mercurial Alexandre Lacazette. The France international produced his finest performance in many a month at the Hawthorns.
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