‘Big concern’ – Arteta admits another Arsenal player picked up injury v Brentford

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe picked up a knock during the Carabao Cup clash with Brentford on Wednesday.

The Gunners boss made some changes to the starting line-up from the side that drew 2-2 against Tottenham, with Aaron Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Jakub Kiwior all featuring.

Nelson scored the only goal of the game, but it was the performances of both Smith Rowe and Ramsdale that have become major talking points.

Smith Rowe started his first game after 499 days after a season disrupted by injuries and fitness concerns.

The Gunners’ academy graduate was almost a forgotten man due to his injuries and struggled for minutes as Arsenal finished second in the league last season.

On Wednesday evening the 23-year-old produced an encouraging display and it won’t be an exaggeration to conclude that he overshadowed Kai Havertz on the night.

“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 a big concern for us today in the line-up, because we have seven at Colney that are not fit now,” said Arteta.

He added: ”He did [pick up a knock] but it wasn’t because of that, we had to manage his minutes.”

Complicated situation

The Gunners will be looking to land a top striker in the January window and they could look to offload some of their fringe players.

According to The Times, Smith Rowe is an obvious candidate who could be sold. After Havertz was signed from Chelsea this summer, it felt like Smith Rowe would further drop down the pecking order.

However, Havertz has cut a frustrating figure in the opening few games for the club, and Smith Rowe can once again cement his position in the side if he keeps on delivering strong performances.

Arteta seems to have a lot of faith in Smith Rowe and he will be thrilled by the Englishman’s vibrant performance against Brentford last night.

Arsenal are sweating over the fitness of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossad, and Thomas Partey, and Arteta will hope that Smith Rowe’s injury is not serious.