Arsenal hero Ray Parlour has told stifled midfielder Emile Smith Rowe to remain patient and be ready to impress Mikel Arteta whenever he gets a chance.
Smith Rowe has just helped England win the Under-21 European Championships with a string of influential displays but finds himself stuck down the pecking order at club level. Last season, injuries and the form of players like Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka meant that the talented playmaker, 22, failed to make a Premier League start.
After the Gunners paid £65m to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea with a plan to play him as a midfielder, Smith Rowe's chances of getting into Arteta's starting XI for the big games look even slimmer. Fortunately, Arsenal's highly-rated academy graduate has been given some advice from Parlour which should be useful in his quest to claw his way back into his manager's plans, having already confirmed his desire to stay at the Emirates during the summer transfer window.
"Emile needs to keep showing Arteta that he is ready to go", the former Gunners midfielder, speaking to JBI Training, declared. "If he is given a chance in the team, he needs to grab it with both hands and play as well as he can because then he knows that he could possibly keep his place in and play in the next game.
"He needs to keep showing Areta that he can trust him when he needs him. He will need to show a positive attitude when he isn't in the team and that he is willing to bide his time until he is given a chance.
"My advice would be that I know it can be frustrating when you're not playing, but you have to be patient and wait for the opportunity and take it when it's given. The hardest part is taking that chance, but with the right application and attitude, I am certain he will get it next season."
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It's very likely that Parlour will be proven right, as Arsenal's return to the Champions League means that Arteta will have to juggle his squad over four competitions. Smith Rowe is set to be a key player for cup fixtures, as he predominantly was last term, and he recently vowed not to "give up" until his boss say so.
"Arsenal are my club and I'm not going to give up until [Arteta] says he doesn't want me," the 22-year-old affirmed. "But that's not the case. He wants me as part of the team and I want to fight for my place and get back in the team."
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Arteta, meanwhile, still has high hopes for Smith Rowe. "He knows how much we love him, and we know how much we missed him and how much we need his qualities," the Gunners boss explained in March.
"Now he needs to prove it, he needs to prove how much he wants to win, and how much he's going to contribute to this team to be better and win. And he's going to have to show that to get in the team."
Arteta later added: "It's about what you do now, what you do yesterday and what you do tomorrow. The player has to have that mindset and the contribution has to be now to the team, it has to make us better and to make us win games. He's very close."
