Yes, it was only a 19-minute cameo. Yes, it was a meaningless preseason friendly. No, he didn’t score any goals. However, Emile Smith Rowe, fresh of a triumphant turn with the England u21s, looked alert and lively as he skipped past Man U defenders (when they weren’t hauling him down or kicking out at him). He’s still working his way back from the groin injury that hindered him through the 2021-22 campaign and the surgery that waylaid him for most of the 22-23 campaign, but the early returns from that cameo suggest he’s close to being back in a major way.
There’s a certain German signing who might have watched Smith Rowe’s performance against Man U with more than a few misgivings. For as incisive as he was in 2021-22, when he scored 10 goals and added two assists, Smith Rowe was playing through pain. I’ve had questions about Arteta’s management of Smith Rowe’s reintroduction to the squad after the surgery, when it seemed like having Smith Rowe sit on the bench or play just five or ten minutes wouldn’t accomplish much, but the cautious slow-walk might be preferable to Wenger’s preference for trusting players to decide when they were ready to return, and certainly preferable to Emery’s decision to rush players back, in both cases leading to other injuries or setbacks.
At any rate, Smith Rowe was back to his free-flowing self, skipping past defenders, finding space between the lines, bursting forward with intent… if he can build on this short cameo, Havertz may have to consider competing for time at other positions because, on balance, Smith Rowe might just be the better player.
Think back to the breakout season he had in 2021-22. Remind yourself that the groin injury hindered his play, and he still found a way to go for 10 league goals. What could he do now that he’s free of that injury and playing his way back to full fitness? If there’s any saving grace for Havertz, it’s that Smith Rowe is probably still a ways away from playing full 90s or playing twice a week. They’ll have to share minutes.That competition should bring out the best in both to the entire squad’s benefit. Smith Rowe is a hungry, all-action attacker. He might wear the number 10, but he plays like an 8—think of a box-to-box midfielder similar to Aaron Ramsey but quicker and better with the ball at his feet.
I was going to suggest that Ramsey is a bigger, more-physical player, but Smith Rowe is actually taller and (now) stronger than Ramsey was in his heyday. I’ll backpedal a bit to remind myself and you that we’re talking about 19 minutes in a preseason friendly—then again, these are the first serious minutes Smith Rowe has seen at this level since March 2023 when he played 47 minutes against Bournemouth. If you think he looked good against Man U on Saturday, wait until September of October when he’s had some time to play through the cobwebs and find his fitness again. It’s been a few years since he was fully fit, after all.
It’s not going out on a limb for me to predict that the upcoming season could be a big one for the Smith. One might almost say he’s set the hit the ground running, both literally and figuratively. Bolder prediction? 15 goals, 5 assists. What’s your prediction for his production? Maybe I’ll offer a £25 gift card to Arsenal Direct to the most-accurate prediction…
Curious that we would spend so much on Havertz when Arteta had to know that Smith Rowe would be back to full fitness soon enough. I hope that Havertz doesn’t turn into another wasted signing like Pepe but I also hope that we see another academy player rise to the levels that Saka has found. If ESR can stay fit (a big if), Havertz and maybe also Vieira might have to find other positions to play at, not necessarily a bad thing given that we still don’t have cover for Saka at RW. I’m all for ESR’s rise from the ashes, I just hope Arteta is savvy enough to know how to manage him, Havertz, and Vieira.
Am for Smith any day. The passion and commitment undisputed, undoubted.
Amen. It’s great to see his energy and enthusiasm!
Is it just me, or has ESR bulked up in the close season ? – see him next to Viera on the sideline before coming on and he looks quite a unit now. Add that to an injury free player, and I expect 14 goals and 6 assists.
It does look like he’s added some muscle (something Vieira should really do if he’s to make the grade in the Prem). ESR may not ever be as swash-buckling as Patrick Vieira, but he does look like he can muscle his way past almost anyone who stands in his way.
I’ll offer a more conservative prediction – is this the closest without going over kind of thing? 8 goals 5 assists. I think the higher numbers would make sense if he was going to be a nailed on starter, it’s more likely that he’ll be eased in and rotated with Havertz.
Isn’t it nice to have this kind of selection dilemma rather than having to send in someone like Rob Holding and fearing the worst?
so that’s 62m down the drain, then? typical of a checkbook manager whose tactics will only work when he has the “right” players, i.e. the best that money can buy…but is Havertz even anywhere close to being the best, or is he the next Pepe?
you seriously believe that with Arteta at the helm ESR is going to supplant Havertz??? something almost Willian-like would need to occur for that to happen, as MA didn’t pay above the number for Havertz simply to have him become a cover piece for someone he’s never truly rated…I’ve always been a big ESR supporter but I don’t think he has the on-the-ball skills required to be a regular starter on a MA-led squad, which is why it was so curious that you, Jon, would try to suggest that ESR was somehow better with the ball at his feet than Ramsey…if that were even remotely the case he would already be a regular starter and our off-season recruitment practices, this year and last, would have looked vastly different…keep in mind that ESR’s best asset is his ability to add some much-needed directness to our attack so the very fact that he couldn’t crack the lineup during our sideways-dependent days, except when we had mutliple injuries, speaks volumes about MA’s true thoughts regarding this particular player…if I were you I would pray to God that Havertz comes good because if ESR is on the pitch, on a regular basis, chances are something horrific has occurred
While it’s true that ESR may have cracked the lineup when Martinelli got injured, he showed signs of becoming a very good player. I hope that I curbed my enthusiasm by repeating the “19 minute cameo” phrase a few times there, but if there’s to be a direct competition between him and Havertz (a possibility but not necessarily a guarantee, given Havertz’s ability to play numerous positions and Arteta’s stated position of wanting to see where he fits best), it’s at least neck-and-neck. Havertz will have to find his better, Bayer self if he’s to earn regular time at any position.
I think Arteta does rate ESR unlike his apparent estimation of someone like Tierney, whom he seemed almost allergic to playing even when Holding proved incapable of stepping up. I may have overstated his dribbling in the Ramsey comparison, but I agree that his directness would add a much-needed dimension to the attack.
first and foremost, let’s not forget that we’re both ESR fans, so we’re at least on the same page in that regards…where we run into problems is our vastly differing views regarding our manager abilities, or lack thereof, when it comes to tactics and identifying those whom best fit his particularly static script…the very fact that we haven’t seen a back 3, a Leeds-like 4-1-4-1 or a 4-4-2 being deployed on occasion, even though we had the requisite personnel to do so, simply highlights both his inability to deviate from a singular vision and his unwillingness to bench his favourites when required…if he favoured ESR whatsoever neither Vieira nor Tross would have been brought into the fold, especially knowing that he had to pay way over the number for the former and give a substantial raise and term to the latter…just saying
I just don’t buy this idea that Arteta plays favourites or worse that he brooks no discontent (I don’t remember specifically if you’ve made the latter charge; others have). If he has standards, expects players to live up to them and sanctions those who violate them, this would be a welcome departure from the at-times indulgent, laissez-fair attitude of Wenger.
Arteta has shown a willingness to change formation, forced though it maybe, by who’s available. We’ve seen 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3, and 4-3-3 (which seems to be his preference). We’re unlikely to see him be as iconoclastic as someone like Bielsa, but his nominal formations frequently end up playing more like a 2-5-3 as Zinchenko inverts and White gets up the pitch behind Saka. As I think we’ve discussed before, the new signings allow Arteta to be less predictable. Last season, we had one of the most stable/static (stale) XIs in the Prem. On the surface, that indicts the manager’s lack of imagination. Peeking beneath the hood shows it was also a lack of options. What the balance there is is up to interpretation.
As for ESR, Trossard was brought in back in January, well before ESR was fit, and Vieira seems more and more like a signing for development rather than immediate play. We’re still reading tea leaves, so it’s best to do without drawing hard-and-fast conclusions. We’ll glean more from how often and for how long ESR plays soon enough.
I feel that sometimes you’ve been guilty of placing your head firmly within the sand when it comes to the ongoings, or lack thereof, of this particular manager…for me it’s really quite simple, the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour and when it comes to Arteta he’s all about favourites and staying the tactical course, even when it’s required him to do some nonsensical shoehorning,…I get that you want to focus your analysis on this past season and the immediate future, as that would make perfect sense for anyone in the managerial choir, but that’s only a small sampling of his time here…that said, I so wish that he comes correct this year, tactically-speaking, but I do worry that if his tinkering falls flat early on he will immediately revert back to his same old, same old inklings…I truly hope that I’m wrong
I’d agree that “the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour”‘; however, Arteta’s past behaviour was very much constricted by the options he had available. It’s not favoritism to avoid playing the likes of Cedric, Holding, Vieira, etc. when they’re just not good enough. Playing others like Magalhaes, Saka, Xhaka, etc. comes down to them being the best (or only) options. With ESR, it’s probably Occam’s Razor – his recovery from surgery was handled very cautiously. I’d advise against too much armchair psychology until further evidence emeerges. To this point, we haven’t heard any internal grumblings or even any clickbait pot-stirring to suggest/reveal that Arteta plays favourites to the detriment of the squad’s performance.
Come on now Jon, it’s not like I’m pulling these criticisms out of thin air…I get that you’re heavily invested in the notion of Arteta being the next “one”. but nothing he’s done thus far would suggest this is a foregone conclusion…in fact, it’s far more likely that we will run out of money before we ever lift a trophy of any real consequence, especially if a sizeable portion of the fanbase continues down this unwarranted cult of personality path once again
Given the nature of disagreements, the truth usually lies somewhere between the two poles. I’ll freely admit that I’m probably (to borrow your phrase) someone who sees the glass 5/6ths full. You, however, may have to admit that you see the glass as perhaps 1/6th full…and leaking from the base as well.
There will always be a cult of personality around this or that manager or player. Given that KSE owns the club outright, the only real question is whether they drink any Kool-Aid (it was actually Flavor Aid that the Jonestown cult drank) or are content to spend their money as they’ve done to this point. At a risk of again sounding Panglossian, I’m inclined to believe that KSE, having run numerous American franchises successfully (first financially and then, eventually, competitively), have assessed the investments they’re making and are not running lemming-like towards financial oblivion.
The proof as always will be in the pudding. The question for us plebs is what we’ll accept as progress. Will it be enough to finish second to Man City? Will it be enough to see us win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup? How far should we be expected to progress in the Champions League?
I do like to resist hard & fast conclusions and hope it’s honest of me to say that I’m open to changing my opinion as evidence dictates.
We’ll have to wait and see…
(1) to be fair my cup is half-full when it comes to a good many of our current players, 4 of whom were at the club prior to Arteta’s arrival, whereas it’s rather lower when it comes to our manager’s ability to take things to the next logical level
(2) as an avid sports fan and longtime Stan detractor, I’m well-versed in most things pertaining to Kroenke’s sporting empire…the business modelling is fairly simplisitc, either you’re in slow-burn mode, like all of his top tier clubs were prior to 2020, or in it to win it mode, like the 2022 Rams & Avalanche and the 2023 Nuggets
the first mode involves the hiring of a relatively unknown coach/manager, adopting top-level drafting/development apparatuses and building chemistry with minimal player movement and/or investment
the second mode was different in two key respects, substantially more investment and the raising of expectations to an all or nothing level…all the aforementioned teams won their respective League on the heels of some rather massive and previously unheard of investment…sound familiar, sort of?!?
so based on our absentee landlord’s past behaviour we had better make it to the mountaintop in relatively short order or things could get rather dicey, as the financial rug could be pulled from under our feet, much like what happened at each of the aforementioned clubs immediately following their championship runs…even the Nuggets lost some very important pieces in the days following their celebatory parade, as Stan wasn’t interested in paying any luxury taxes two years running
(3) the FA or Carabao aren’t the kind of trophies I was referring to when I spoke of “real consequence”, as no owner invests well over 600M with either of those two in mind…this is about raising the bar not meeting the lowered expectations of the latter Wenger regime
“Havertz may have to consider competing for time at other positions because, on balance, Smith Rowe might just be the better player.”
I’m OK with that– in that position, the left-8. Would like to see Havertz in MO’s spot at times, spelling Saka, and up front on occasion (as a German/Swiss Army Knife).
The idea of shoe-horning Havertz into the left-8 role seemed a bit premature– when we also have Trossard who has looked quite good in that area of attack early-on this Summer.
Mikel is going to have to make some choices– and soon. Always felt this was going to be his hardest task as a manager– when he is given all the tools he’s asked for– in building something as impressive as last year’s overachievement.
I think part of what we’re seeing is the cost & benefit to signing players who can play multiple positions. It’s a kind of jack of all trades/ace of none situation. Trossard can play CF & LW, maybe a second striker. Havertz – 8, 10, second striker, maybe striker as well. Where would ESR fit in? Left wing? that’s Martinelli’s to lose. the 8? Could he be more of a 10 (to match his squad number)? I’m all for flexibility but there’s something to be said for specialisation as well.
Should we not all just be happy that we are forming a squad of very good players? Is it not great that, for the first time in years, we can make half a dozen changes to our line up and not be totally crap? I get that we will all have differing opinions on who should start and who shouldn’t, but let’s not forget that this season it’s looking like we can actually compete in all 4 competitions, without using the same players in every game. This is unheard of at Arsenal for many years, and I for one, am excited for the future of our great club.
Yes we probably overachieved last season, our objective was top 4. We had a chance at winning the league, but unfortunately fell short for two reasons.
1: We didn’t have the depth of squad to cover for any injuries.
2: Man City are probably the best team on the planet right now.
This season we have that cover. I’m not saying we will 100% win the league, but we now have a strong squad that should still be in the running next May.
MA is, I believe, a top, top coach and I’m convinced that he will get the best out of his excellent squad of players.
“Checkbook manager “? Please! Does anyone really think Pep has been such a success by not buying players?
Halland €60m, Phillips the €50m bench warmer, Grealish €120m, Dias €70, Rodri €70m the list is endless.
We will be a force this season, you wait and see.
it’s an abundance of options if not an embarrassment of riches, a far cry from last season when just one injury – Saliba – essentially ended our title run. Now, if Saliba goes down, we have Kiwior and Timber who can step in, and it’s getting to be like that at most positions except RW where we really only have Saka and then a large drop-off to…Vieira? Nelson? I’d like to see one more signing so that our precious starboy isn’t run into the ground playing every single minute.
We were very close to being a force last season. This time through, we’re starting to look like the real deal indeed!
Spot on!
fingers crossed I know what I’m talking about!