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According to BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton, Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe is currently unhappy with his situation at the Emirates.
THE LOWDOWN: INJURY-HIT CAMPAIGN
Smith Rowe had a fabulous season under Mikel Arteta last season. He was able to score ten goals whilst assisting two others in 21 starts in the Premier League. But it has been a different case entirely this season. Due to a foot injury, the 22-year-old missed a large part of Arsenal’s preseason and wasn’t available for a couple of opening games as well.
He made his first appearance of the season in the 4-2 win over Leicester City, featuring for only seven minutes. In total, he has played less than one hour of football for Arsenal this season and missed the trip to Zurich last week.
Arteta revealed before that game that the Englishman has been struggling with injury for a while. It was reported that he was feeling some discomfort in the recent defeat to Man United and there’s still major doubt about him returning for the Brentford game this weekend.
THE LATEST: PUNDIT’S CLAIM
Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton explained that the 22-year-old ‘looks a bit down’, suggesting he’s probably not happy with what is happening to him.
“With the players that are coming in, I don’t think he’s really had the game time that he was after. You can see just in his demeanour, he looks a little bit down, he’s not as happy as he was last season.
“Getting an injury at this point in time is not ideal, especially if you’re not a main player within that team. So it’s really about him recovering from this and getting back to where he was.
“We know he’s a great player but you have to show the manager that you can do it on a consistent basis.“
THE VERDICT: NO ONE TO BE BLAMED
Smith Rowe’s injury setback has nothing to do with him not getting enough playing time. He only played 45 minutes of Arsenal’s first preseason game and that was it and did not return until the Leicester game.
If he’s not fit, the manager cannot consider him for games to start with. There’s no doubt about his talent and quality but he needs to work on his fitness and be able to win the manager’s trust back.
