At the start of Mikel Arteta’s reign, Emile Smith Rowe was brought in and played a crucial role in helping turn Arsenal’s fortunes around in 2020/21.
However, this season has seen the 22-year-old notch just 161 minutes of league action across 12 outings.
This has led to speculation over Smith Rowe’s future in north London. However, Kevin Campbell previously stated that the midfielder will stay put and even suggested that ESR is being taught to play in the Granit Xhaka role:
“He stays, I think Emile Smith Rowe stays,” Campbell told Highbury Squad.
“I think Smith Rowe has to stick to one position. I know he can play a couple, but he needs to say ‘I want to be a number eight’ for example, and that’s his position.
“He can play here, there or anywhere. If you bring in a specialist they will play. Rumour has it that they’re teaching him the Xhaka role, so we don’t know, it’s been one of those seasons.”
Now, football.london have provided an update on ESR: “We’ve done some stuff on the Smith Rowe situation in terms of him being left out. He’s come back since the injury, he’s pain free, he’s there, he’s doing well in training,” Kaya Kaynak stated.
“All the reports from training are positive, he’s lost weight, his physique is much leaner than it ever has been before. He’s setting personal records when it comes to pace, physicality all of those things, he’s not had any conversations with Arteta, there’s not been any specific, ‘you need to do this to be in the team’.”
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