He may be the youngest member of our tour squad, but Emile Smith Rowe has been nothing short of impressive during our time in Singapore.

The Hale End graduate, who celebrates his 18th birthday on Saturday, has trained with the first team since returning from his summer break and has certainly caught Unai Emery’s eye.



“First of all the club have given me a young player with a present and future in this club,” he said. “Emile is one of the club’s recommendations to come on tour with us and I am very happy with him.



“He’s played in every youth national team, from under-17s to under-15s. He’s improving, thanks to his work in the Arsenal academy, and he’s close to expressing his quality with the first team. He’s 17 so I think this is the moment for Emile Smith Rowe and I’m very happy with him.



“We want to create one mentality,” Emery added. “We want to create one team who plays with a big personality to become protagonists in each match. Now it’s very important for me to look at every player and also the young players.

“It’s a good moment for the young players to express themselves, to work every day, to show us their quality. They are working with our senior players every day and I think although it’s every player’s chance to prove themselves, it’s a good time for the young players to work with us to express their quality.”