Emile Smith Rowe has been named the Emirates FA Cup Player of the Round for the third round, after dominating the vote.
![Arsenal star wins award 1 Arsenal's English midfielder Emile Smith Rowe (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English FA Cup third round football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium in London on January 9, 2021. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)](/static/uploads/2021/01/fbl-eng-fa-cup-arsenal-newcastle-1024x682.jpg)
The official Emirates FA Cup social media accounts confirmed on Thursday that Emile Smith Rowe was the clear winner of their vote for Player of the Third Round. He picked up 61.8% of the votes to earn the award.
Smith Rowe came off the bench in the 56th minute against Newcastle United, playing just over an hour of Arsenal’s extra-time victory.
The 20-year-old scored the opening goal of the game in excellent fashion, controlling a tricky pass with his shoulder before sweeping a finish across the goalkeeper and in off the post.
He also worked hard off the ball, making a couple of interceptions and a couple of tackles without being dribbled past once. His pass accuracy of 86% was as high as usual.
It was certainly the kind of impact you wanted him to have on the game, and his goal helped Arsenal through to the fourth round.
Unfortunately, the Gunners couldn’t follow the win up with another victory on Thursday, drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace. They face a rematch with Newcastle on Monday, so Smith Rowe will be hoping to influence another good result.