Smith Rowe signs new long term contract with Arsenal, chooses No 10 shirt

After months of speculation and two bids from Aston Villa (that were firmly rejected), Emile Smith Rowe signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.

The 20-year-old creative midfielder broke through the first team last season providing a boost after the team had fallen into the bottom half of the Premier League table. Through many of those performances last season Smith Rowe will now wear the historic No 10 shirt and will sit alongside the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Mesut Özil, and Jack Wilshere in the Arsenal history books.

Everyone knows that No 10 is a big shirt and it is definitely a big position as well. So I’m buzzing to be honest, I can’t wait to get on the pitch,” Smith Rowe told arsenal.com

Aston Villa was keen on signing Smith Rowe, submitting a £25m bid and later on a £30m bid last month. Arsenal immediately responded to the bids, rejecting both and affirming that Smith Rowe was a part of Mikel Arteta’s 2021/2022 season plans.

Smith Rowe was able to shine in a side that was lacking creative scoring all season, notching two goals and several performances when he was the standout player. When asked about what it meant to receive a new long term contract Smith Rowe said, “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.”

Other young stars from the Academy like Bukayo Saka, Folarin Balogun, and Arthur Okonkwo signed long-term contracts with Arsenal reaffirming what manager Mikel Arteta and Technical Director Edu Gaspar are looking to achieve at the club.

“I think he totally deserves that new contract, he has earned every right to be in the position where the club had to think about rewarding what he has done and he has shown his commitment to the football club…so when that relationship builds in the way that it is getting, that is a really strong and powerful message for everybody. We want and I want hungry, talented [players] who play with huge desire and Emile fits all of that,” Arteta told arsenal.com

As Arsenal head into the new campaign they will have two of their brightest young stars, Saka and Smith Rowe, now bring in a positive change into a club that had missed out on many young academy players in the past.