The team may have been a little different, but the result was the same. Arsenal, handing opportunities to a number of fringe players and second-string stars during Luton Town’s visit to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, provided a timely reminder about the depth at Mikel Arteta’s disposal.
Thomas Partey, out for months with injury, showed glimpses of last season’s form at the base of Arteta’s midfield. Reiss Nelson’s return to the starting XI afforded Bukayo Saka a well-deserved break.
For Luton boss Rob Edwards, however, there was one player who stood out head and shoulders above the rest, a man who has started only three Premier League games all season showcasing the ability that would surely see him stroll into most other teams in the division.
Arsenal beat Luton Town at the Emirates
“He’s a really good player,” Edwards tells TNT Sports of Emile Smith Rowe. “I was lucky enough, he probably won’t remember, but I did a few England camps with him at the Under-20s when I was at the FA. And I thought he was outstanding.
“We played Portugal and we won 4-0 in Portugal, and I thought he was brilliant and I’ve always been a big admirer of his.”
On a rare outing, Smith Rowe showed exactly why he – alongside Saka – was viewed as the bright spark in an inconsistent Arsenal side in the early days of the Arteta era. Unlike the club’s number seven, however, the Hale End graduate has been left by the wayside thanks to a series of injuries and the stellar form of those around him.
“I thought he was really good,” Edwards adds. “He’s a top player. They’ve got a lot of top players here and he’s just been unfortunate not to get in, but I think he’s an exceptional player.”
Martin Odegaard takes his tally to ten
The likes of Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard have kept Smith Rowe out of the first-team for much of this campaign. It was the latter who opened the scoring against Luton too, lashing home first-time from a Havertz pass as the Gunners captain took his tally to double figures.
“I love him as a player,” Arteta says of Smith Rowe, who will be hoping for further opportunities as we creep into the season’s decisive final stretch. “It’s a joy to watch him, how he moves, how he changes direction, how physical he was today as well without the ball.
“He won a lot of duels and he was thinking with that killer instinct to play forward and to make things happen. And, when Emile is in that moment, it’s very difficult to stop him. Today he helped us a lot to win the game.”
Arsenal remain top of the table after the very definition of a ‘professional’ win. Liverpool can – and probably will – overtake them with a win at home to Sheffield United tonight, however, while Manchester City stayed within touching distance after Phil Foden’s hat-trick saw off Aston Villa.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
