Speaking with former Huddersfield Town Head of Football Operations David Webb on today’s Tactical Breakdown Podcast enlightened me to how exciting a talent Emile Smith-Rowe is. The young 20-year-old attacking midfielder was of huge importance for the Terriers as they secured Championship survival.
The deal
Webb detailed how he and his colleagues put together a presentation to Arsenal as to why Smith-Rowe would be in the correct environment at Huddersfield. Arsenal’s vested interest in their younger talent playing regularly is well documented. Previous experiences have left The Gunners wary about the decisions they make on loans for their young talent.
Leeds’ presentation for Eddie Nketiah last summer is one such experience. The striker struggled to play consistently in Marcelo Bielsa’s side and Patrick Bamford was given the nod even though the club had convinced their North London counterparts the contrary. Eddie was recalled in January and became a part of Arteta’s first-team squad.
Smith-Rowe had already played in both the Premier League and Europa League, but the arrival of Arteta saw more minutes for Mesut Ozil and a greater emphasis on Joe Willock’s involvement in the first team. This meant the route for the Smith-Rowe was congested. Huddersfield’s presentation sold the potential for regular minutes and they delivered.
The stats
The attacking midfielder started 13 games and played in another 6, scoring and assisting twice. Webb spoke about how he knew Smith-Rowe as more of a wide player but was brought in to play more centrally. All his games for the northern club were played in the middle but his history meant he was found drifting with freedom across the pitch. The heat map below details this, if given the freedom to roam, Smith-Rowe can be extremely effective in transition.
Smith-Rowe’s ambitious and offensive style meant that he drove the side forward when on the ball. An 82.1% passing accuracy with balls in the final 3rd show maturity and intelligence in the choice of passes. This drops when he passes into the box but down to just 56.1% – higher than Joe Willock and 1% less than Nicolas Pepe.
Arteta’s long term goal is likely to see Arsenal move away from a back 3 and into a more attacking back 4. Providing the additional midfielder to aid in creativity which so far has been concentrated to the wider areas. The type of midfielder who should occupy the third midfield position has been one of debate.
Arsenal’s noted interest in Thomas Partey has brought with it questions as to whether, the man deployed mainly at defensive midfield this season, would occupy a similar role for Arteta – moulding the midfield more similarly to Liverpool’s 4-3-3. Or whether a midfielder such as Partey would fulfil one of the two pivots of a 4-2-3-1.
Whichever system is chosen, Smith-Rowe provides a strong case to fit in either. David Webb mentions how his development has seen him move centrally to play both the 8 and 10 roles.
Arsenal’s left flank is arguably its most dangerous with Kieran Tierney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang forming a formidable partnership. Were Smith-Rowe to play the left-sided number 8 position of the 4-3-3 he has shown strong utility in enabling the left flank.
In Huddersfield’s match against Luton Town, Smith-Rowe attempted and completed 13 forward passes – as shown below. These were, on average, concentrated to the left wing as shown below. With the hope that Ceballos can be brought in permanently, with the Spaniard typically favouring the right, there are suggestions the two could form a solid partnership to support our already lethal wing play.
The future
It will be intriguing to see how Smith-Rowe fits into Arteta’s plans for next season. Any preseason friendlies which can be squeezed into the short off-season will provide both fans and the coach opportunity to see the 20-year-old’s improvement from his loan spell.
With the finances tight, Smith-Rowe’s form could offer some hope that funds can be prioritised for more pressing positions like defence and defensive midfield.
Great article. Smith Rowe is a very young player and as with William Sileba we have to be careful not to over invest in him and hang unrealistic expectations around his neck. This article positions very well. It would be unrealistic to see ESR coming directly in to any starting 11 accept for League Cup, FA Cup and should we qualify early rounds of the Europa. I found his heat map incredibly helpful because it reminds me of the positions taken up by Pepe against Man City in the FA cup semi-final. That was much more of a free attacking role than a fixed 8 or 10. Thank you for this Tom really good!
Great read Tom, cheers!
It’ll be interesting to see the competition between Willock and ESR for CM minutes. From what I’ve seen, ESR is more creative and his decision making is superior to Willock, while not sacrificing anything in pace and ability to drive forward with the ball that Willock brings; he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy (Willock’s been less injury prone). I am hopeful that ESR will claim one of the back-up 8 roles next year and think Willock may benefit from a loan.
Great article Tom, Q. That I thought of while reading the article. Did Rowe leave while Arteta was at the club or while Unai was? Only asking cuz if Arteta was at the club when Rowe left Arteta played Ozil over him but after the break Ozil has been frozen out.