Joleon Lescott has claimed that he ‘instantly’ saw how talented Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe was after working with him, as he told Sky Sports News (09/11/21 at 5:25 pm).
The England U21’s assistant coach was full of praise for the Arsenal academy product after he earned a debut call to the senior side this week.
Smith Rowe will now be hoping to make his England debut when the Three Lions take on Albania and the mighty San Marino in their World Cup qualifiers.
It is a deserved call for the Hale-End star because he has been one of the form players in the Premier League – he has netted in three games on the bounce, including the winner against Watford last time out.
Nonetheless, Sky pundit Lescott shared his thoughts on ESR’s England promotion after working with him earlier this year.
“Amazing,” said Lescott. “Again, I was lucky enough to work with him earlier on in the year and you can instantly see how talented he is.
“To see him step up, it’s a great honour for us. Yes, he is sadly missed because he’s a top-quality player.
“But it’s what we are in this job for. It’s what we are in this role for to help develop players and help them progress further along into the senior team.
“I think the earlier they can do that, the greater it is for us and them as an individual.”
That’s three Arsenal players in England’s main squad – Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale.
Some would argue that Ben White should join them given his form and he is unlucky to miss out.
The likes of Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady have been selected by Gareth Southgate.
And whilst those three were ahead of him before the start of this season, Arsenal’s big-money summer signing has performed better than them all during these first 11 matches.
But White can’t do anything but continue to let his football do the talking and eventually Southgate can’t ignore him.
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