Arsenal racked up a third straight Premier League win on Saturday night, thrashing West Bromwich Albion 4-0 at The Hawthorns.
The Gunners were in terrible form, but successive wins over Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion meant fans were in buoyant mood for Saturday’s game.
The game ended up being a rout, with Kieran Tierney scoring a superb solo strike before Bukayo Saka finished off a sweeping team move from close range.
Alexandre Lacazette bagged a second-half brace to seal a thumping win, but the input of Emile Smith Rowe can’t be understated.
The 20-year-old set up Saka’s goal with fine movement and an unselfish square pass, and he played a part in Lacazette’s first goal, with his shot blocked on the line before Lacazette followed up.
Smith Rowe has now started three games in a row, and is really taking his chance in the Arsenal first team having barely been seen before starting against Chelsea.
Smith Rowe has provided creativity in the final third as well as fine movement and hard work, meaning this is surely his position to lose now.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game, Mikel Arteta suggested to Sky Sports that he has rated Smith Rowe ever since he first saw him in training – and the youngster certainly justified his manager’s praise with a superb display just hours later.
“He is a player that I really liked since the first day I watched him,” said Arteta. “Just the way he moves, how intelligent he is with the positions he takes and his work rate – don’t underestimate that. He works really hard for the team and he had a really bad injury this year and hasn’t really trained with us at all.”
“For the last two weeks he has been much more involved and you can see what he can bring to the team. I am delighted to have a young player with his talent and in that position. It was something that we needed,” he added.
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