Rob Edwards had a lot of positive things to say about Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe after his exceptional performance against Luton Town last night.
The England player was given his third start of the Premier League season by Mikel Arteta last night, as Arteta chose to change his team before Saturday evening’s match at Brighton.
With Bukayo Saka was not fit enough to be in the match day squad and Declan Rice given a much needed and well deserved rest, Smith Rowe was in the starting XI for the first time since late January.
The 23-year-old thanked Arteta’s trust with an outstanding performance, resulting in being named man of the match in a 2-0 win that put the Gunners back at the top of the table, at least for the next 24 hours.
Smith Rowe had a major role in both goals in the first half, dominated by the home side, who were in control during the comfortable second period.
Understandably, Smith Rowe tired in the second 45 minutes, but Edwards was impressed with the display from the Hale End Academy graduate, which served as a timely reminder of his abilities to his own manager.
'He’s a really talented player,' said the Hatters boss in his post-match press conference. 'I was fortunate 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.
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'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.
'I thought he was really good. 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.'
Arteta, by his own admission, has struggled to give opportunities to a player who played a key role in kickstarting his Arsenal revolution during the early period of his tenure.
Injuries and the increased level of competition have been factors in Smith Rowe having been reduced to a bit-part role, but Arteta continues to greatly admire a player whose potential has never been in doubt.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said: ‘I love him as a player. 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.’
