Arsenal have got a bit of a quandary on their hands in assessing the future of Emile Smith Rowe, an immensely talented and dynamic option struggling to reintegrate into the side following a lengthy injury.
The Gunners have been in stellar stead this season and have finally combined the pieces after several years of cautious progress under the tutelage of Mikel Arteta, who won the FA Cup in 2020 during his maiden managerial campaign, but had failed to qualify for the Champions League before the current term.
Indeed, the north London outfit perch in second place in the top flight and have waged a ferocious battle with Manchester City for the throne, spending 27 of the 34 match-weeks as the division's table-toppers before a recent four-match skid allowed the Citizens in, who are looking to complete a Premier League three-peat.
However, the improvements have been clearly discernible, with 78 points on the board, and with four matches still to play, the Gunners could conclude the season with 90 points – which would match their personal best in the Premier League.
One of the most prominent points of the club's resurgence this term has come in the form of Granit Xhaka, with one tactical analysis illuminating the importance he has to the outfit with his forward-thinking movements in the No. 8 role, maintaining a level of robustness and ubiquity in the centre but flourishing with penetrative darts and delivery from deep.
This is evidenced by the metrics, with FBref ranking the £120k-per-week Swiss among the top 4% of midfielders across Europe's big five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking box, the top 15% for rate of goals, the top 12% for shot-creating actions and the top 17% for progressive passes per 90.
Does Smith Rowe have a future at Arsenal?
So how is this relevant to Smith Rowe's future? Well, according to Football.london, the graceful gem has been partaking in training sessions as a central midfielder recently, with Arteta seemingly convinced that the Englishman can play a part in a deeper, pivoting role over the coming years – something that could certainly play into his favour.
Arsenal are inundated with offensive options and murmurings on the transfer mill suggest that summer arrivals might be forthcoming, so deploying him in a new, centre-midfield position could be an auspicious move for all parties.
Smith-Rowe played a major part in his outfit's 2021/22 campaign, scoring ten goals and providing two assists from just 21 starts in the top flight, as the north Londoners narrowly missed out on a top-four finish.
Praised as a "gamechanger" by journalist Mark Mann-Bryans, the three-cap England international has not started in the Premier League this season and has registered just the one assist, but this is largely due to the groin surgery acquired early in the campaign, and his failure to break into the team can be put down to Arteta being wary of disrupting the harmony.
Should he find a home closer to the nucleus of the midfield, Smith Rowe might yet find his brightest days in Arsenal red lay ahead of him; as per WhoScored, the attacking midfielder has averaged one key pass per match and maintained a pass completion rate of 87.3% across the duration of his professional career.
Despite his main position being in the offensive area of the midfield, the "special player" – as heralded by Martin Keown – has the knack of masterful precision with his passing play. However, he will need to improve his defensive output if he is to succeed in Xhaka's current role.
As per Sofascore, the one-time Huddersfield Town loanee forged an average of 0.5 interceptions and 0.4 tackles last term, winning 50% of his duels and succeeding with 60% of his dribbles.
Such numbers need work, though Xhaka himself only averages 0.4 interceptions per outing and 0.9 tackles in the league this term, with a dribble success rate of 64%.
There are plenty of questions surrounding the ostensible decision to offer the £40k-per-week ace a fresh slate after a challenging year: does he boast the physicality to adopt the new role? Or the defensive aptitude? Or indeed, will he be able to adapt to the new role with the same level of quality that cemented him as such a promising prospect over the past few seasons, with Danny Cowley describing him as a player who "can find space in a telephone box" during his time with the Terriers.
As Smith Rowe acclimatises to his new deployment in training, the picture will swiftly become clearer and Arteta might indeed nurture his dream Xhaka heir without having to delve into the transfer market.
