Tony Cascarino heaps praise on ‘amazing’ Arsenal starlet Emile Smith Rowe and makes Jack Grealish comparison

Emile Smith Rowe appears destined for greatness and he took one more step along that path on Saturday evening.

The Arsenal starlet, making his 20th appearance for the north London side, broke the deadlock in the Gunners’ FA Cup third-round tie against Newcastle, firing past Martin Dubravka 11 minutes before the end of extra-time.

The 20-year-old playmaker, who has been a key figure in Arsenal’s recent revival, did not actually start at the Emirates on Saturday, but his arrival from the bench catalysed the limp Gunners and got them performing to a far better standard.

It was an eventful evening for Smith Rowe.

He would not even have been on the pitch to open the scoring had it not been for VAR, which allowed referee Chris Kavanagh to review a red card shown to the youngster for a challenge on Sean Longstaff.

The decision was made to downgrade the red card to a yellow, meaning Smith Rowe survived on the pitch and was afforded his opportunity to help fire the Gunners into the fourth-round.

Smith Rowe’s form this season – a goal and two assists in three Europa League games, two assists in three Premier League games, and now a goal in the FA Cup – has seen him highly praised, and talkSPORT’s Tony Cascarino became the latest to laud the youngster following his third-round showing.

“He’s got this amazing ability of rolling players,” said Casc on Sunday’s Weekend Sports Breakfast.

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“Jack Grealish does that really well, where you can roll your one side.

“His touch takes him into his movement; his touch is so good he can just go past people with his touch at times.

“I am just watching a lad who will hopefully grow, because he really does have a lot about him.”

Cascarino was not so pleased when it came to Willian’s performance, however.

The Brazil international has struggled since joining Arsenal from Chelsea on a free transfer last summer, and Casc thinks he is putting in the kind of performances you’d see from a youth player.

“He’s playing so poorly for a player who’s achieved as much as he has,” added the ex-Chelsea forward.

“How do you question a player with so much experience and won a lot in the game and played at a very high level, that plays as poorly as that?

“He’s like a young lad who’s come into the team, who looks nervous and edgy.”