Glenn Hoddle column: On Emile Smith Rowe, Michail Antonio for England and Brentford in the Premier League

Emile Smith Rowe is making a big impression in the Arsenal first team
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Glenn Hoddle25 January 2021

From the impact of Emile Smith Rowe at Arsenal to whether Michail Antonio could offer England something different at the Euros, here Standard Sport’s new columnist Glenn Hoddle answers your questions.

Ismail asks: Do you like the look of Emile Smith Rowe and how long before he is in the England squad? 

I saw him a few years ago come on in the Europa League and I was very impressed with him. He was positive, he was very direct, and he has been given a chance now. It is nice to see some of these Arsenal youngsters, they have got a crop of real good youngsters.

Long-term, they have five or six players who could go on and become top Arsenal players. Smith Rowe could be one of those, without a doubt. But it is one thing when you are a youngster to come into the team and do well, but the real test for a player is can you keep that standard that you have set? These kids have to maintain it and that takes time. 

Elaine asks: Could Michail Antonio offer England something different at the Euros if he can stay fit? 

That is the big question. He has had hamstring problems. I think he is a really good player, I think he has improved no end. He holds the ball up, he can get in behind defences and now now he believes in himself as a goalscorer.

When you think back to years gone by, the question was whether England should take Andy Carroll for the last 10-15 minutes of a game? Carroll was a different type of player to Antonio but, if plan A and plan B is not working, then why not work off Carroll? He might not be the one that scores the goal but he might be the one who causes the problems.

West Ham United FC via Getty Ima

If Antonio is flying fit and he ends the season well, then he could offer England a different dimension and could be one that surprises us. We have some fantastic players but he would be a different option. Because if you get service into him, he is a handful.

Michael asks: After watching the Brentford game on Sunday, how well could they do in the Premier League if they go up?

I think they would enhance the Premier League, like Leeds have done.

They were not perhaps at their best against Leicester in the FA Cup but they were missing key players. If they have their strongest team out then they are a match for a lot of Premier League teams.

They play good football and I was impressed with them. I think they would be a great addition for the Premier League and really improve it.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in