There’s a constant clamour from everyone to name who they think is the best in the world, but it’s more telling when you hear professional players talk about who they’ve come up against.
Emile Smith Rowe is still developing at Arsenal and he’s not been a regular feature in the team for very long, so it does mean he’s got some limited experience against the best teams.
A report from The Daily Mail looked at an interview with Smith Rowe and he was asked about the best player he had faced so far – and the answer was Man United star Paul Pogba, although Jack Grealish gets a shout out too:
” Paul Pogba is definitely up there. So strong, so technically good. Jack Grealish, too. He’s so good, man. I look up to him. The way he is with the ball. The way he scores, assists and creates, he’s so good. Bukayo tells me he’s a great guy, too.”
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Pogba is an interesting choice because he’s often the scapegoat in the media when United don’t play well, but there’s always been a feeling that he has all the ability in the world.
Opinions will be split over some of his form over the years as to whether it’s his fault for not stepping up or the manager’s for not putting him in the best position to succeed, but he’s been exceptional this season.
It’s possible that he’s now starting to excel as his contract runs down and he looks to engineer a move to a team that will build everything around him, but it’s interesting to see the admiration from a young player who plays for a different team.