It has been a gloomy year for Arsenal’s silky midfielder Emile Smith Rowe. Just 19 appearances in a full season, with just 475 minutes of football is not going to help his career, especially at the age of 23.
Smith Rowe came through the ranks along with Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson but unlike Saka, he has found it difficult to break into the first team and that is primarily due to injury.
In the 2022/23 season as well, he played only 275 minutes owing to a groin injury, and by the time he was ready, Mikel Arteta was not ready to tinker with a title-challenging team.
While questions about his future have been prevalent on the internet, they are different questions that have been making rounds for the last couple of days.
Smith Rowe was recently seen partying in Jamaica. He was accompanied by Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, and Smith Rowe’s teammate Reiss Nelson. This has piqued the interest of the netizens enquiring whether Emile Smith Rowe is Jamaican.
Usually, during season breaks, players go to visit their native places and since a lot of foreign players come to the Premier League to make it big, they often host huge parties when they visit their native lands. Smith Rowe could visit Jamaica as a friend as well, but is that the only reason?
Despite his apparent caucasian appearance, Emile is African American.
His father, Leslie Rowe is a Jamaican immigrant who works in the foster service industry in the Islington area. While not much is known about Leslie’s parents, him hailing from Jamaica makes Emile of Jamaican heritage. According to Wikipedia, the 23-year-old is a quarter Jamaican.
In the video, Smith Rowe was seen partying with hordes of people in what appeared to be a nightclub. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, jeans, and a cap to go with it. The entire floor was seen grooving to “Ding Dong- Gas Gas”, a popular Jamaican number.
The fans, apart from criticizing Smith Rowe for partying after a failed season, were also left with more questions than answers.
While some called out the two Arsenal players for partying with an Aston Villa striker whose goal virtually ended Arsenal’s title charge, some wondered if Reiss and Smith Rowe would join Villa next season.
Since Smith Rowe and Nelson have been on the outskirts of the national side as well, fans have also called on them to switch nationality and join the national Jamaican football team.