Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe showed what a clinical finisher he can be in midweek.
The Gunners’ academy gem was the hero for England Under-21s against Andorria.
Smith Rowe scored the only goal of the game to give the 10-man Young Lions a 1-0 victory.
The 21-year-old, who scored in Arsenal’s North London derby win last month, galloped through on goal after latching on to Curtis Jones’s pass, before casually slotting beyond the goalkeeper.
This is an attacking midfielder by trade, but Lee Carsley, the England boss, claims that he has the killer instinct of a number nine in training, as he displayed against Andorra.
He told The Standard: “I’ve seen him in training, the way he finds the corners and finishes very calmly, he finishes like a centre forward at times and the opposite to that is that he has got that last pass which is really important.
“That’s why I’m keen on getting him in really attacking positions more often, the higher up we can get him and the more we can get him one-vs-one he’ll create a lot of problems like he does at Arsenal.”
Facets
Smith Rowe already has so much to admire as an attacking player, so many strings to his bow.
And if he can improve on his goalscoring, we’re talking about someone who could be a massive, massive asset for Arsenal.
Not that his numbers are bad, because he has three goals for club and country across all competitions now, but to reach the next level he will have to improve on the frequency in which he finds the net.
The permanent signing of Martin Odegaard at the Emirates has already seen Smith Rowe steps things up a notch and constant evolution will be required from here on in.
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