Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka can lead the Arsenal rebuild
Arsenal made it three back-to-back Premier League wins as they emphatically beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the North London Derby.
The red side of North London took the game early, going three goals up before half-time, then seeing out the second to get their biggest win of the season; the win also jumped Arsenal up the table and above Spurs into tenth place.
It is no secret that Arsenal have been in limbo since Arsene Wenger’s departure in 2018, going through Unai Emery and onto current manager and former player Mikel Arteta. Under Arteta, the prolonged theme has been “trust the process”, and despite winning the FA Cup in his first year in charge, this NLD victory could be the actual start of a new period for Arsenal.
Arteta has made it clear he wants to have a core team of younger players to move his team forward – and though his formula struggled in the first three games – the young lads are starting to pull the strings.
In particular, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, two players who showed what they could last season, are showing up in this stretch.
5 - Emile Smith Rowe (21) and Bukayo Saka (20) have assisted one another five times in the Premier League; among duos when both aged 21 or younger, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney (8) have assisted one another more often in the competition's history. Partnership. pic.twitter.com/QNWnEP3yac
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 26, 2021
Against Spurs, the pair were instrumental in all three goals: Saka setting up Smith Rowe for the opener, before Smith Rowe bagged himself an assist, crossing for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and then Saka got his own goal, with a mazy run that ended with the ball at his feet in the six-yard box, where he slotted it past Hugo Lloris.
Although Spurs were very poor in the NLD, the way Arsenal played through Smith Rowe and Saka was incredibly positive – direct and got results – it was a performance that shows that these two can be the heart of taking this team up in the league. The pair took this game from the off and ripped Spurs apart.
Though he didn’t hit the statistics sheet in this game, Martin Odegaard can be included in this conversation, as he has been a part of the run of wins Arsenal are on, getting the winner at Burnley, via a wonderful free-kick. With him, Arsenal have a young, attacking core of 22, 21, and 20 years of age, respectively.
Next. The Puzzling Case of Paul Pogba. dark
Arsenal are definitely still a work in progress, but Smith Rowe and Saka are beginning to really show up, and lead this team.