England play Albania in World Cup Qualifying tonight, with Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe potentially making his debut for the Three Lions.
Smith Rowe has had an excellent start to the season and was rewarded with a late call-up to Gareth Southgate's squad.
Here is a look at how the so called Croydon De Bruyne has got to this moment:
Childhood & Academy Years
As a child, Smith Rowe grew up in Thornton Heath in Croydon to a family supporting North London clubs. His father supported Tottenham and his brother supported Arsenal.
Smith Rowe sided with his brother but despite his allegiances, he idolised Frank Lampard growing up.
A teammate from his local team was on trial with Chelsea and put in a word for a 10-year-old Smith Rowe who was subsequently handed his first big footballing opportunity.
Both fortunately and unfortunately for Smith Rowe, he was rejected after a four-week trial but had attracted the attention of Arsenal who he quickly signed for. The youngster remained in the Hale End academy until September 2018 when he made his first-team debut.
Along the way, his father's club Tottenham attempted to poach Smith Rowe as a 16-year-old but the midfielder turned them down in favour of playing for his boyhood club.
First Senior Appearances
By the age of 18, Smith Rowe had played 11 under-23s games for Arsenal and was part of England's u-17s World Cup winning side in 2017. But it was a pre-season game against Atlético Madrid in 2018 which put Smith Rowe on the map, dazzling with his dribbling and a superb goal from outside the penalty area.
Unai Emery handed Smith Rowe his senior debut as a late substitute against Vorskla Poltava in the Europa League in September 2020.
His first senior goal came 2 weeks later against Qarabağ, slotting a shot through the keeper's legs to finish off a counter-attack.
Smith Rowe made 6 appearances during the first half of the 2018/19 season, all of which were in the Europa League and EFL Cup. The Englishman scored 3 goals along the way and looked like he was ready to take another step forward.
The Struggles of 2019
Smith Rowe's performances impressed enough for him to earn a January loan move to German club RB Leipzig.
However, his experience would not go as he, or Arsenal would have hoped. Smith Rowe picked up a hamstring injury in January which would keep him out until mid-April.
With concerns over his injury, and Leipzig in 3rd in the Bundesliga, Smith Rowe only made 3 substitute appearances during his time with the club, totalling 29 minutes.
Smith Rowe has credited the experience saying it "helped him grow as a person both on and off the pitch" and the stewardship of Ralph Hasenhüttl was beneficial.
Niggling injuries continued to plague Smith Rowe on his return to Arsenal, preventing him from gaining proper match sharpness and being a reliable option for Unai Emery.
He managed to make 3 Europa League appearances and 1 EFL Cup appearance, failing to score or register an assist.
But 2019 did end on a positive note for Smith Rowe, making his Premier League debut against Manchester City as interim manager Freddie Ljungberg hauled of Mesut Özil after a poor display. In the next game, Ljungberg handed Smith Rowe his first Premier League start.
Huddersfield
After finally getting himself fit, the arrival of Mikel Arteta was an important moment for Smith Rowe. With Özil still on the books, Arteta looked to give the German playmaker one last chance to prove his worth, closing the door on Smith Rowe's opportunities at Arsenal for the second half of the 2019/20 season.
As a result, Smith Rowe was loaned out to Championship strugglers Huddersfield in order to get regular first-team football.
The Terriers were in a relegation battle and in desperate need of some creativity. The fit made a lot of sense.
Smith Rowe quickly impressed manager Danny Cowley, becoming a regular in the side, although an agreement with Arsenal meant his minutes had to be managed - to Cowley's frustration.
After a 2-1 win over Bristol City in February 2020, Cowley praised Smith Rowe, saying: "He could find space in a telephone box. He has this ability to receive it on the back foot and speed the play up and draw and commit [players]. I believe he has the potential to become a top Premier League player."
The loan proved highly beneficial to both parties. Smith Rowe ended up featuring in all of Huddersfield's last 19 games of the season, helping them to stay up by just 2 points.
Playing in a hybrid #10/#8 role, Smith Rowe's performances at Huddersfield began popularising the nickname "Croydon De Bruyne."
The Breakthrough Season
After an impressive loan period, where Smith Rowe showed for the first time he could stay healthy over half a season, 2020/21 was finally the time for him to make a tangible impact on Arsenal.
Except he was unable to... at least for the first half of the season.
New signing Willian was viewed as the new creator of the side, whilst Lacazette, Pépé, Saka, and Ceballos all took minutes away from Smith Rowe in the early weeks.
Then came another injury, this time to his shoulder, which would keep him out until late November.
Smith Rowe made 4 appearances, 3 in the Europa League and 1 in the EFL Cup, totalling 145 minutes by Christmas.
But then came a Christmas miracle on Boxing Day, for Smith Rowe and for Arsenal.
With the Gunners sat in 15th through 14 games, a desperate Arteta played Smith Rowe flanked by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. It was time for Smith Rowe to show what he could do.
His involvement in the game was simple, rarely taking more than one or two touches before progressing the ball forwards. He also took the chance to showcase his tricky dribbling. Out of context it was a solid performance, made good by an assist for Bukayo Saka.
In context, it was a performance Arsenal had been crying out for all season.
Having played Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pépé and Willian in various combinations for the opening 14 games, Arsenal's play was stagnant on and off the ball. Each of the four would take an age on the ball and looked lazy when they did not have it.
As a result, the inclusion of Smith Rowe for Arsenal did exactly what Danny Cowley said it did for Huddersfield - it sped up the play.
From that game onwards, Smith Rowe featured prominently for Arsenal, and the arrival of Martin Ødegaard on loan did not slow him down. Instead, it benefitted Smith Rowe, learning how to apply his talents out on the wing.
Smith Rowe made 29 appearances from Christmas until the end of the season, starring in games against West Brom, Tottenham and Chelsea in particular, as well as featuring in all 8 of Arsenal's Europa League knockout games.
In the Premier League, the Englishman ended the season with 2 goals and 4 assists in 20 games, helping to put a smile on the faces of Arsenal fans after a torrid start to the season.
This Season
After a laughable attempt from Aston Villa to sign Smith Rowe in the summer, the Englishman committed his future to Arsenal, signing a long term contract, as well as being handed the #10 shirt.
Despite featuring heavily during Arsenal's woeful start to the season, Smith Rowe was a bright spark. In the absence of key players, he was the one who gave fans hope, showcasing more of his excellent dribbling and showing more aggression when looking to shoot.
It took until the 6th game of the season for Smith Rowe to get his first goal contribution, registering a goal and an assist in a North London Derby rout.
He has been shifted out to play as a left midfielder in a 4-4-2 for the past 4 games, but that has not hindered Smith Rowe's ability to be involved, drifting inside and providing a threat through his dribbling, passing, and more recently his shooting.
After another goal and assist performance, this time against Aston Villa, Arteta spoke about Smith Rowe's end product, stating: "When you want to take the game to the next level, when you become a real important player in such a big club, that should be the only priority"
"He should demand that in his game because he is capable of doing it. I’m pleased that that is developing" he added.
Smith Rowe's goalscoring has only continued to develop since Arteta's comments, with the midfielder scoring against both Leicester City and Watford.
England's Latest Star?
After his fine start to the season, it was a surprise when Smith Rowe was not selected for Gareth Southgate's initial England squad. However, with players pulling out, Smith Rowe has been handed his chance and may feature against Albania.
So what would Smith Rowe bring to England? Here is how he has gotten some of his goals and assists in the Premier League for Arsenal this season:
His goal against Tottenham is all about his movement and anticipation. Once Saka picks up the ball, Smith Rowe is in space and begins making a blindside run towards the box, giving Saka time to make his move.
By starting off in space, Smith Rowe has made Tanganga's job impossible as he is forced to follow Aubameyang to the back post. Seeing Saka has beaten his man and is about to cross, Smith Rowe is the most active player in the box, darting towards Saka to meet the ball and score.
His assist for Aubameyang's goal in the same game starts off again with finding space. Having dropped off the front line, Smith Rowe is able to help Arsenal to beat the Tottenham press, laying the ball off first time to Tierney.
He does not stop after a nice layoff, continuing to be active in the play, running off his man and giving Aubameyang an option round the corner.
Smith Rowe drives into the box with the ball before picking out Aubameyang who has delayed his run. The Arsenal captain scores off of Smith Rowe's cutback to give the Englishman a deserved assist.
The ways in which Smith Rowe is able to influence a game on the attacking side of the ball are endless. His dribbling, passing and movement are all excellent, and in recent weeks he has developed an eye for goal.
Against Leicester and Watford, Smith Rowe scored very similar goals. As the play develops on the right side of the pitch, he drifts infield to provide an option on the edge of the box. In both instances, the ball, fortunately, breaks his way, but because he has drifted into space and a dangerous area, he makes his own luck and strikes the ball into the bottom right corner.
Having played alongside Saka for Arsenal, as well as Phil Foden during the under 17s World Cup, Smith Rowe would be perfect to pair with those two players in order to help facilitate swift inter-play as well as offering movement off the ball.
When his side does not have the ball, Smith Rowe works as hard as anyone, often leading Arsenal's press this season. His energy is infectious and he is not afraid to make a slide tackle if required.
The steps forward Smith Rowe has taken over this past year and the journey he has been on in his footballing career have set him up to be a future England star.
If he is given his England debut against Albania tonight, Smith Rowe will undoubtedly show everyone what makes him so special.
Adam Perry - 12/11/2021