Emile Smith Rowe Signs New Arsenal Long-Term Contract

Effectively fending off interest from suitors, Arsenal have tied midfielder Emile Smith Rowe to a new long-term contract at the club.

The 20-year-old put pen to paper to ensure that he will remain at the Emirates for the foreseeable future. The club also revealed that the youngster will be donning jersey No. 10 ahead of the new season.

For the Gunners, it will no doubt be a relief that they were able to tie him down after the swarm of attention the midfielder garnered for himself following a breakthrough season.

Aston Villa were amongst the clubs vying for the services of Smith Rowe. Arsenal reportedly rejected two bids from the Premier League club in other to keep the Englishman.

Following Smith Rowe’s contract extension, Arsenal Technical Director had this to say:

“This is another important step forward for us and we’re all delighted that Emile has signed a new long-term contract.

It’s great to see another young player develop through our academy system to become a key part of our first team. Emile is a player who represents the future of the club and this is why we have given him the No 10 shirt.

We have trust in Emile and we know he has the potential to be a beautiful player for many years to come.”

Arsenal Head coach, Mikel Arteta also spoke glowingly about the Englishman. He said:

“As we all saw last season, Emile is an intelligent player with excellent ability. His sharpness on the turn and exceptional vision has already made him a key player for us. His attitude and willingness to learn have also been very impressive.

“Huge credit to our team in our academy who have given Emile a great education and have worked superbly to help with his development through the age groups.

“Along with the first-team staff, huge credit also goes to our senior players, who have played such an important role to help Emile develop, gain confidence and perform the way he did last season.

“I know the fans will join us in being delighted that Emile has committed his future to the club. We’re now looking forward to helping him develop further and seeing him become even more important to the strong young team we’re building.”

On signing the contract, the Englishman had this to say:

“It’s been a crazy journey, like I said, being here since I was 10 years old, coming through the ranks with loads of teammates and stuff along the way,” Smith Rowe told Arsenal.com.

“So finally putting pen to paper on a long-term deal is something that I’ve been waiting to do.

“I feel like it’s definitely been an up and down journey, there have been a lot of downs with injuries and so on, and I feel like I’ve had a lot of experience, going out on loan and stuff. So it’s definitely been a hard one, but I’m really happy to commit my future to Arsenal.

“I feel like I don’t really try to set myself any challenges going forward, I try to keep moving forward game by game and see how it goes. I don’t like to put too much pressure on myself, but I’m sure it’s going to be a big season for me and the team as well.”

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When asked about how he felt on landing the No. 10 shirt, he said:

“It’s really special – I can’t explain the feeling when I found out. I’ve not really got the words to explain it right now! But yeah, I’m really happy.

“The legends that have played here and have worn the shirt… it’s a bit too much right now but I’m sure I will calm down after a while!

“When I was younger I used to watch Dennis Bergkamp, and when I was going through the academy Mesut Ozil was here as well and getting the opportunity to train with him and play with him as well was unbelievable. I just want to keep working hard and hopefully, I can play like them and replicate what they’ve done.”

Emile Smith Rowe was entrusted with starting in the No. 10 role against Chelsea last season, following Arsenal’s worst start to the Premier League in decades. He duly delivered for the Ginners, inspiring a 3-1 win over their London rivals at the Emirates stadium.

In the subsequent five games, he recorded three assists and scored a goal in the Gunner’s FA Cup against Newcastle United.

His exploits earned him a runner-up spot for the Player of the Month award in January. On 9 May 2021, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

He also scored the match-winner against Chelsea and helped Arsenal secure a first league double over their neighbours since 2004, their first win at the Stamford Bridge in almost 10 years.

It’s clear to many Arsenal faithful that Smith Rowe deserved a long term contract. Did he deserve the No. 10 shirt? Will the responsibilities associated with that shirt be too big a burden for him to bear? Leave a comment below.

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