Martin Keown has told BT Sport that Emile Smith Rowe has now made himself undroppable at Arsenal.
Smith Rowe broke into Arsenal’s team at the turn of the year, and he has never looked back.
The youngster has added far more creativity into Arsenal’s attack and he was in fine form on Thursday evening.
The playmaker dictated numerous Gunners attacks, as they picked up a 4-0 win over Slavia Prague to progress to the Europa League semi-final.
And Keown now thinks that Smith Rowe simply has to start in big games for Arsenal, even though Martin Odegaard is at the club.
“Smith Rowe, he’s a no brainer,” he said. “You’ve got to play him. I know we’ve been debating Odegaard and Smith Rowe. But the pathway is there for him. He was brilliant.”
Mikel Arteta has started both Odegaard and Smith Rowe together before, but that does seem to limit the Arsenal academy graduate’s effectiveness.
When Odegaard starts, Smith Rowe is forced out to the left and although he has still performed well there, he is clearly more comfortable when deployed as a number 10.
Arsenal’s next game comes against Fulham tomorrow, when it will be interesting to see if Smith Rowe starts again or is given a rest.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
