Arsenal’s Carabao Cup clash at West Ham tonight could have been the perfect time for Emile Smith Rowe to build upon his first start of the season, but he is absent from the squad.
There were raised eyebrows amongst the Arsenal fanbase when the heavily rotated lineup for the trip to the London Stadium was announced, and the 23-year-old was nowhere to be seen.
It has now emerged that the midfielder picked up a knee injury against Sheffield United, and the extent of the injury is currently unknown.
Mikel Arteta is worried about Emile Smith Rowe
Speaking ahead of the clash against West Ham, Mikel Arteta explained why Smith Rowe is absent from the Arsenal squad.
“We’ve got an issue with him. He felt something in his knee and he started to feel some pain after the game and we are assessing it but yeah, a big worry with him,” Arteta stated.
Fabio Vieira and Kai Havertz started in midfield, with Martin Odegaard on the bench again following some recent injury problems.
Emile Smith Rowe’s injury frustration
Smith Rowe will be hoping that his injury is not a serious one again, having just returned from a long absence to make his first League start since May 2022.
His start against Sheffield United was a promising one, as he looked back to his best fitness and provided an assist. He was a shoe-in to start tonight if fit, in what would have been a huge opportunity for him to work his way into the team.
After hardly featuring at the start of the season, Arteta had started to bring Smith Rowe off the bench more, and if this is to be a longer setback, then there may be huge question marks over his future.
The £40k-a-week star was linked with a move away in the summer, but Arsenal’s stance was that he is a huge part of the plans. However, another injury could change that, and both the player and club now have a nervous wait ahead.
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