Nigel Winterburn says Arsenal have an ‘absolutely terrific’ player who Mikel Arteta cannot leave out

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Arsenal playmaker Emile Smith Rowe has been described by Nigel Winterburn as “absolutely terrific” following his heroics in Thursday night’s Europa League quarter-final second-leg win.

The 20-year-old is one of the best players to graduate from the Hale End setup in recent years and, alongside Bukayo Saka, has cemented his place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

Smith Rowe has had to bide his time at the Emirates Stadium, with just two Premier League appearances prior to last Christmas.

However, Arteta finally named him in the starting XI against Chelsea on Boxing Day – his full Premier League debut – and the rest is history.

On Thursday, Smith Rowe delivered arguably his best performance for Arsenal, who coasted into the Europa League semi-finals at the expense of Slavia Prague.

“The boy’s got real quality, an absolutely terrific player,” Winterburn told the Gunners website, as quoted by Optus Sport.

“The one thing that’s held him back slightly is when he’s looked like he’s going to break into the team he’s picked up injuries and it’s slowed him down.

“This season he came in and put in a performance where he said ‘drop me if you dare’. The manager can’t leave him out of the team.”

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Smith Rowe has been this season’s Hale End success story, following on from Saka’s footsteps last year.

Both were virtually unplayable on Thursday night and it’s exciting to see just how much they will progress and develop in the next few years.