Luton Town boss Rob Edwards has lauded one Arsenal player after last night’s game at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal continued their brilliant run of form in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over the Hatters on Wednesday evening.
Martin Odegaard opened the scoring early with a well-taken finish following a brilliant move from the Gunners.
A Daishi Hashioka own goal turned out to be Arsenal’s last of the game just before halftime.
Mikel Arteta made five changes to the side which picked up a point at Manchester City, with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Thomas Partey, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard all coming into the side.
With Arteta taking an opportunity to rest a host of key players while Bukayo Saka missed out through injury, Arsenal’s squad players impressed on the night.
Smith Rowe in particular caught the eye in the middle of the park as he played a key role in their second goal of the evening.
After not starting a league game since the end of January, Smith Rowe admitted he was struggling with cramp in the 50th minute last night.
But the Hale End Academy product impressed Luton boss Rob Edwards with his display.
Edwards lauds Smith Rowe after Arsenal beat Luton
Speaking to the media following last night’s game, Edwards heaped praise on Smith Rowe.
“He’s a really good player,” the Luton boss said. “I was lucky enough, he probably won’t remember this, but I did a few camps with him with the under-20s when I was working at the FA. And I thought he was outstanding.
“We played Portugal, we won 1-0 in Portugal and he was brilliant. So I’ve always been a big admirer of his.
“Yeah, I thought he was very good. He’s a top player. They’ve got a lot players here. And it’s just unfortunate they’ve not been able to get in. But I think he’s an exceptional player.”
Smith Rowe’s display vs Luton in numbers
While Smith Rowe didn’t register an assist for the second goal due to Hashioka turning the ball into his own net, he impressed on his return to the starting XI.
According to WhoScored, the 23-year-old completed 44 passes on the night with a success rate of 89 per cent.
Two of those were key passes and he also made one tackle, picking up a match rating of 7.04.
Smith Rowe has had to wait patiently for his opportunity this season and it’s fair to say he made the most of his 85 minutes on the pitch last night.
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