Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Emile Smith Rowe sustained an injury as Arsenal won 1-0 at Brentford in the Carabao Cup. The Gunners are now without seven senior stars.
A sole goal from Reiss Nelson after just eight minutes was the difference in their third-round tie on Wednesday. The winger rolled a shot into the bottom corner after Eddie Nketiah stole possession inside the Bees’ box. But Nathan Collins just failed to intercept the striker’s cross.
The slice of fortune ultimately proved enough for Arsenal to pip Brentford 1-0. Arteta’s team will now visit West Ham United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in October. Yet their win was not without issues as Smith Rowe sustained an injury on his first start in 16 months.
Smith Rowe enjoyed a rare start as Arsenal beat Brentford 1-0
Arteta had not given Smith Rowe an opening call in any competition since Arsenal lost 2-0 at Newcastle United in May 2022. Injuries plagued the 23-year-old’s campaign last term and he only featured for 195 minutes. Smith Rowe played 14 fixtures but each came as a substitute.
Minutes have proven to be very scarce so far this season, as well, despite Smith Rowe being fit for all nine of Arsenal’s games to date. Arteta had only used the Arsenal academy product three times for 24 minutes before playing Brentford. He was an unused substitute five times.
Smith Rowe played from the 87th minute against Manchester City in the Community Shield. He also featured from the 69th minute against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. Yet Arteta introduced him in just the 97th minute in the north London derby against Tottenham.
Arteta confirms Smith Rowe suffered an injury in the Carabao Cup
The Carabao Cup, therefore, was a chance for Smith Rowe to send Arteta a statement about gaining a greater role. He opened the third-round tie at the Gtech Community Stadium as a central midfielder. But his lack of minutes caught up with the youngster in the later stages.
Arteta ultimately replaced Smith Rowe with Martin Odegaard in the 82nd minute as Arsenal held on to beat Brentford. But the Spaniard did not replace the midfielder down to his latest injury blow. Instead, he wanted to manage his minutes given his lack of action in 16 months.
“He did but it wasn’t because of that,” Arteta noted, via quotes by Arsenal’s official website. “We had to manage his minutes. His load has seen a big spike in the last two weeks, as well, and he was struggling to finish the game, the same with Reiss.”
What has Arteta said about Smith Rowe’s performance?
Despite Smith Rowe struggling with an injury toward the end of the tie, the Arsenal product impressed Arteta against Brentford. Particularly over the first half, the Spaniard appreciated what the three-cap England international offered the Gunners’ engine room in west London.
“I think he had really good moments in the first half and the game was much easier for him,” Arteta said. “The way he was developing with his qualities, and the game we started to play after five or ten minutes in the second half, and then after he was struggling more.
“Physically, he’s still not there to play 90 minutes. We have to bear in mind that we have four or five players in that field and that was big concern for us today in the line-up because we have seven at Colney that are not fit now.”
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