Granit Xhaka praised arsenal teammate Emile Smith Rowe and explained why it is “so important” to the Premier League club.
Smith Rowe, 20, came from the bank for the Gunners to beat Newcastle United 2-0 in their third round of the FA Cup on Saturday night.
The academy graduate had already won a red card, but referee Chris Kavanagh asked via the VAR to review the resolution and degraded the foul to a yellow card.
In addition to impressing in the FA Cup, Smith Rowe has played in the Premier League recently and Xhaka says it is “very important” to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
He told Arsenal’s official website: “He’s a lovely guy, a very smart guy who needs to get better, he listens to us a lot, experienced players and he’s so vital to us. “
“You can see how many balls he recovers, how many key balls he plays in the lead and for the avant-garde is so important.
“It has to stay that way, day after day, but it has a smart mindset and that’s also very important. “
Arteta, meanwhile, said Smith Rowe is “growing up” as an Arsenal player after his winning functionality in Newcastle.
“It means we’re in it, it plays really well, it grows and it gets more and more vital on the team,” gunners said.
“Today he showed that today, with wine, the personality with which he plays.
“We asked him to get more into the area and be more of a threat, and today he scored a vital target for us. “
Arsenal have now won four consecutive games and return to the Premier League on Thursday night against Crystal Palace.
Follow Metro Sport on our social networks, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more stories like this, visit our sports page.