EMILE’S ON
He puts rise to the top down to personal chef and ditching junk food
EMILE SMITH ROWE is cooking up a storm in English football – thanks to some help from a personal chef.
Smith Rowe has become one of the brightest talents in the game following a series of stunning performances for Arsenal.
His form has earned him his first call-up to the England squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino this weekend.
But Smith Rowe knows his meteoric rise to the top might never have happened had he not managed to ditch the junk food.
The Gunners playmaker admits he was eating too much chocolate and his favourite grub at Nandos, while guzzling down fizzy drinks – until Mikel Arteta told him to take a good look at his diet.
The Gunners have now provided Smith Rowe with a personal chef who visits his house to cook all his meals.
The decision has proved a recipe for success, even if the decision has put his mum’s nose out of joint!
Smith Rowe said: “I didn’t used to eat that well to be honest. I used to get cramp after 60 minutes and stuff.
“I wasn’t eating great, I wasn’t drinking that well, before games I wasn’t really that hydrated, but since then I’ve tried to focus so much on it.
“My family have helped me a lot in the house as well, cooking for me. It was mainly my diet, nutrition and stuff like that. That’s really helped me.
“I didn’t really listen to be honest, I think that’s where I went wrong.
“But now I’m listening, all the time. I like Nandos a lot. I’ve tried to cut out chocolate and takeaways. I’m always eating from home now.
“The club have sorted me out a chef and stuff. His name is Chris and he comes to my house now.
“My mum normally cooks but she doesn’t have to any more.
“Yeah, maybe (she’s taken offence), but she wants the best for me and if that’s what I’ve got to do, I’ll do that.
“She’s going to be fuming
I’ve said this!”
How Smith Rowe, 21, ended up with the Gunners is now proving to be a little embarrassing for a host of other London clubs, not to mention Barcelona.
Chelsea gave him a trial as a teenager, while Tottenham and Crystal Palace also showed interest in him before deciding to look elsewhere.
Not that the man himself is complaining, having grown up a Gunners fan marvelling at legends including Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
He said: “I think Spurs were interested when I was about 15 or 16.
“I wasn’t that interested to be honest, being an Arsenal fan, although it’s good to have all these teams interested.
“My dad is a Spurs fan as well, so that’s interesting. But me and my brother are both Arsenal fans and I always looked up to him, so I followed that.
“It was just a generation thing, seeing the legends playing there at the time. Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, those sort of players.
“I’m not sure if that Barcelona thing was true, to be honest. They didn’t contact me. I just saw it on social media and stuff.
“I was away at a tournament with the England Under-16s and when we got back it came out, but I don’t remember speaking to them.”