Posted: Apr 20, 2022 at 8:33 PM
Last updated: April 20, 2022 at 8:34 pm
Arsenal and Chelsea are currently deadlocked in a string of first-half excitement at Stamford Bridge that has seen their London rivals draw 2-2 with the Champions League ramifications on both Premier League outfits, but Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe has set a new standard for Arsenal. In the first 45 minutes.
Hale End producer led his effort to get past Edouard Mendy into the bottom corner after being set up by Norwegian creator Martin Ødegaard in 27 minutes to give Arsenal a temporary 2-1 lead away from home.
Emile Smith Rowe is the first Arsenal midfielder to score more than 10 Premier League goals in a single season before he turned 22.
That’s why it turned into number 10. ✨ pic.twitter.com/TMbHXDxG03
– Squawka (Squawka) April 20 2022
It was Smith’s 10th goal of the season in the Premier League, making him the club’s top scorer domestically. But most importantly, that blow set him a new club record by becoming the first midfielder in the club’s history in the Premier League to score ten or more goals at the age of 21 or younger.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 19: Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on February 19, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Sean Pottrell/Getty Images)
But the goal would at the same time set a second milestone for the England international, making him the second Arsenal player in the Premier League to score double-digit goals at the same age threshold (21).
With the level of talent that Arsenal have historically distinguished in the Premier League era, Smith Rowe has put himself in shining company during a season that has gone a long way to prove that the Croydon native is one of the key figures in this team for the years to come.
club legend Ian Wright had recently called Smith Rowe For his lack of composure in front of goal in the wake of his loss to Southampton at the weekend, saying: “Look at Arsenal here, Emile Smith Rowe, he really cut it, you want a little bit of calm. You want a little bit of calm there.”
“You look at the way he really broke himself. All you really want is to get a clean connection on the goal. The goalkeeper is still stretching out to try to save it. If he gets a good connection, he probably scores. The problem is eye-catching. And the risk. Those chances, they weren’t half chances. They were good chances.”
It’s safe to say that with his goal against Chelsea this evening, Smith Rowe showed that he really can score when it counts.
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