Yahoo Finance Mikel Arteta hails ‘extraordinary’ Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe after Newcastle win
Mikel Arteta has hailed the “extraordinary” impact of Arsenal youngsters Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.
The young duo - aged 19 and 20 respectively - continued their respective ascents to stardom with a fine pair of displays in Monday night’s 3-0 Premier League win over Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium.
Saka and Smith Rowe shined against the Magpies, combining for the second goal as Arsenal continued their recent revival and moved into the top half of the table with a fifth victory in their last six matches across all competitions. It was also their fifth successive clean sheet.
A thrilled Arteta lavished praise on several individuals after another impressive triumph on Monday, with captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang silencing his critics with an eye-catching brace against Steve Bruce’s much-changed side.
But the Spaniard reserved special praise for Saka and Smith Rowe.
“When we are winning they put a smile on my face,” he said. "I know what they are capable of doing, they are developing really well.
"The performances they are putting in are extraordinary."
Smith Rowe was also singled out for rave reviews by pundits on Monday night, with Gary Neville mentioning the so-called ‘Croydon De Bruyne’ in the same breath as Gunners Invincibles legend Robert Pires and insisting he could have featured in the mesmerising Arsene Wenger sides of old.
“They've had brilliant players, the likes of Pires, intelligent players who could run with the ball,” Neville said on Sky Sports. "He could play in the old Arsenal teams with the way he plays and he's only six games in... six games is unbelievable.
“It's really impressive and Arsenal fans have got a group of young players there they can hang their hats on and start to like and build something around.”
Jamie Carragher agreed with his Sky colleague, comparing Smith Rowe’s technical talents to that of Aston Villa star Jack Grealish.
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