How Spurs nearly signed Smith Rowe before Arsenal rise

Emile Smith Rowe’s path to the Premier League and England could have been very different.

As a 16-year-old, the attacking-midfielder “nearly” signed for Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham at a time when Mauricio Pochettino was blooding young English players and pushing Spurs towards the Premier League title.

David Webb was head of elite potential ID at the time and wanted to bring Smith Rowe to White Hart Lane, but he instead signed scholarship terms for the Gunners and has now become one of Mikel Arteta’s key players at just 21.

Webb eventually signed him on loan when he was technical director at Huddersfield, having continued to monitor his progress closely, and believes Smith Rowe is showcasing the benefits of that year in the Championship during his rise into the England fold.

“I’d watched Emile from a young age from when I was at Tottenham,” Webb told Sky Sports News. “He caught our attention at 15, 16 and we nearly acquired his services when he was at the stage just before he was going to sign a scholarship.

“We’d been monitoring him playing against us; he was 16 and playing in the 18s and sometimes the U23s, so he stood out and affected the game really well. We became alerted to his situation that he hadn’t yet agreed a scholarship with Arsenal yet so he could potentially chat to other clubs.

“While he was thinking, we had an opportunity where we might have been able to acquire him. We had a window of opportunity but unfortunately for Tottenham, Arsenal made him a very good offer and he chose to stay there. I think he made the right move for where he is now.”

Smith Rowe went on loan to RB Leipzig as an 18-year-old in January 2019, but he only made three Bundesliga appearances due to injury problems. He made three appearances for Arsenal the following season before going back out on loan to Huddersfield in January 2020, where he helped them avoid relegation with 19 excellent displays.

Webb recalled: “There were a lot of clubs interested in him, naturally, in the Championship, Premier League and abroad but – testament to Emile and thankfully for us, because he was outstanding for us at the time – he chose us, and I think that played a key role for the development of his character more than anything.

“Huddersfield at the time were in a situation languishing around the bottom four or five places in the Championship, so points were key. So he was coming into a different playing style, living away from home again, and he had to develop another side to his game.

“It was more of a fight; battling in games, the work ethic, the character side. He had to take in heavy blows in games and he really applied himself to the mental and physical side. I think just that whole process of being away from Arsenal and taking on the challenge of Huddersfield was pure testament to his character.

“So if he could combine those attributes with his natural talent, you could see he was really going to go on and be an established Premier League player, which he has done now.”

Smith Rowe began to stake a claim in Arteta’s team almost a year ago following a bad run of form for the Gunners, bagging four assists before scoring twice in the final four games of the campaign. This season he has gone from strength to strength, emerging as one of Arteta’s best players so far with four goals and two assists.

He has earned his first England call-up by Gareth Southgate for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino this weekend and Webb believes it is “justified on current form”, but they have probably been watching him for a while.

“I would say that they’ve probably been monitoring Emile’s progress for the last year or, when he started to put in more consistent performances week in, week out,” Webb said. “He was showing good performances at U21 level and club level. Gareth would have had a close eye on his progress.

“There is a lot of competition in those areas, with the No 10s, but I think if he gets his chance on the pitch he will show what he can do.

“It’s also key, given Arsenal’s transition over the last few years, that Mikel Arteta is there [at Arsenal]. He is getting the chance to play on a consistent basis and Mikel seems to be developing his game into a different phase.

“He’s getting more out of him perhaps than even Emile expected; the additional work rate that wasn’t there before but is now, and I think over the next few years he will keep developing into an even better player.”