Hardly-seen £40k-a-week Arsenal ace now tipped to start v West Ham

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Journalist James McNicholas believes Emile Smith Rowe stands a good chance of starting for Arsenal against West Ham United.

Emile Smith Rowe was handed his first Arsenal start in the Premier League for well over a season against Sheffield United last time out.

Whilst the Hale End academy graduate could only produce an average performance against the Blades, getting those minutes under his belt would have done him the world of good. Smith Rowe will now be desperate to build on that outing.

The 23-year-old needs game time to get back to his best. Mikel Arteta will remember just how good the £40,000-a-week ace is capable of being.

During the 2021/22 campaign – the last time Smith Rowe was fully fit, in form, and regularly part of the team – he managed ten Premier League goals in 33 outings. Since then, his career has encountered a number of setbacks and stalled, but he remains a fan-favourite at the Emirates Stadium and the supporters will be desperate to see the youngster shine for the north London club again.

Still a long road ahead of Emile Smith Rowe

Getting a start in the Premier League was an important step on his climb back up the pecking order.

James McNicholas has now backed the player to make further progress with a run out at the London Stadium. Speaking on the Arsecast Extra podcast, he said, “there’s a Carabao [Cup] game against West Ham on Wednesday night, you’d have to think he’s the sort of player who might look at that and think, that could be another start for me.”

There has been recent transfer interest in Smith Rowe from elsewhere in the Premier League. However, the stance from Arsenal has been clear that they have no intention of selling the three-cap England international at this time. Arteta clearly still has faith in Smith Rowe.

Smith Rowe still has a long way to go to get back to where he once was in Arteta’s plans. He also faces plenty of competition. The recent arrivals of Fabio Vieira, Leandro Trossard, and Kai Havertz has provided further obstacles he must overcome in pursuit of game time. Given the raw talent Smith Rowe possesses though, few would bet against him re-emerging as a star at the Emirates Stadium at some stage.