After one of the worst runs in the club's history, things have suddenly got really good for Arsenal.
A two month winless run has been ended in some style by three very different wins in a row against Chelsea, Brighton and West Brom.
The impact Emile Smith Rowe has had on this turnaround cannot be understated. With two assists in three games the 20-year-old has firmly established himself as a key part of Mikel Arteta's first team plans.
Speaking about the young midfielder, the Gunners boss revealed he is very happy with he has seen from him so far.
“He is a player that I really liked since the first day I watched him," he said. "Just the way he moves, how intelligent he is with the positions he takes and his work rate – don’t underestimate that.
“He works really hard for the team and he had a really bad injury this year and hasn’t really trained with us at all.
“For the last two weeks he has been much more involved and you can see what he can bring to the team. I am delighted to have a young player with his talent and in that position. It was something that we needed.”
It's quite the turnaround for a player who has had to bide his time before making the step up to Premier League level.
Smith Rowe first burst onto the scene with a 25-yard strike against Atletico Madrid in the pre-season of Unai Emery's first season in charge.
Since then though he has had to go out separate loan spells to RB Leipzig and Huddersfield Town in order to get game time. Unfortunately for the youngster both were disrupted by injuries. A hip injury kept him out for most of 2019 before a dislocated shoulder scuppered his chances of making an early impact on Mikel Arteta's first team this season.
After failing to play a single minute in the Premier League before Christmas, there were rumours he might be heading out on loan again come the January window, but after grabbing his opportunity in the Premier League with both hands it's arguable now that he is currently Arsenal 's most important player.
His intelligence in terms of a spatial awareness and the speed at which he has been able to form strong partnerships that bring the best out players like Kieran Tierney, Alex Lacazette and Bukayo Saka, set him apart from other Hale End graduates who have been brought into the first team this season.
The work rate that Mikel Arteta picked up on has also been exceptional. At the time he was substituted against West Brom Smith Rowe had covered more distance (10.1km) than any other Arsenal player, as per Premier League tracking data. The 20-year-old had also made the most high-intensity sprints (13) and managed the highest average speed (7.71km/h) in the match.
However, it is also this side of his game that means Smith Rowe is not quite ready to shoulder the amount of reliance Arsenal are putting on him right now.
The impact of COVID-19 on the fixture list means that games are coming thicker and faster than ever before. The current seven-day gap between the win at West Brom and the Gunners FA Cup clash with Newcastle is the longest break Arteta's side have had since the opening weekends of the season (excluding international breaks).
The number of injuries have gone up considerably as a result and given Smith Rowe's recent history in this department it would be bordering unfair for Arsenal to expect him to continue his current levels of output for the remainder of the campaign.
Arsenal are going to have to use their squad to get through the season, but the problem right now is that there is no obvious replacement for Smith Rowe. Joe Willock and Alex Lacazette have both tried and failed in the number 10 position, while Willian has been in desperate form since his arrival and Mesut Ozil is still in exile from the squad.
Mikel Arteta has admitted that the Gunners "need to be careful" to ensure that any arrivals that come in do not stifle the development of their youngsters, but that in itself is not a reason to neglect the chance to support them in the current transfer window.
This should not be mistaken for a criticism of Smith Rowe, because, as previously mentioned, his impact on the team has been almost transformative. But it is vital that Arsenal offer some support to 'the Croydon De Bruyne' if they want to sustain their new found success.
