Emile Smith Rowe has been exceptional since making the break into the first team, and he has been even better since putting pen-to-paper on a new contract which Arsenal players have struggled with in the past.
The Englishman signed a new contract in the summer and was handed the number 10 shirt showing the belief in him from the club.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil struggled immediately after a bumper new deal with the club and saw a major decline in goal contributions.
However, this season is yet to reach its halfway point and Smith Rowe already has the same amount of goal contributions in the Premier League as he did over the whole campaign of last season.
The 21-year-old has six goal contributions for the Gunners in the league so far and has been a crucial piece to Arsenal’s surprising success this season.
Mikel Arteta put a huge amount of responsibility on the youngster's shoulders, but he has thrived from the expectation which is the reason why he has started in every Premier League fixture for the Gunners so far this campaign.
When he signed the new deal, fans were worried that they would see a drop off in form, as the same had previously happened to Ozil and Aubameyang.
In the 2016/17 season, Ozil was excellent and contributed to 18 Premier League goals, which would earn him a new contract worth £350,000-a-week in 2018.
However, the former German international would see a major dip in form and only contributed to seven league goals during the course of 2018/19.
Aubameyang also had a marvellous campaign in 2019/20, scoring 29 goals in 44 games. But after signing a new contract at the end of that season, he would only go on to score 15 in the next year.
But it seems Smith Rowe has ended this trend of Arsenal’s goal creators losing their form after signing his first major deal. Emile Smith Rowe has been in fine form for Arsenal recently.
The 21-year-old received his first international call-up by Gareth Southgate ahead of the November international break, where he made his first appearance and scored on his debut against San Marino.
Arteta used Smith Rowe as a left-winger in the north London derby against Spurs, and since then he has been one of the first names on the team sheet due to his goal output.
The Hale End star has become the fourth Arsenal player under the age of 21 to score in three straight Premier League games, the previous three being Nicolas Anelka, Jose Antonio Reyes, and Cesc Fabregas.
The youngster initially set himself a target of 10 goal contributions this season, however, it is clear he is going to blow that target out of the water and it is a credit to his mentality to succeed as an Arsenal player.
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