Emile Smith Rowe has said that he will be an Arsenal player for as long as manager Mikel Arteta wants him to be.
The England international failed to start a single game in all competitions for Arsenal last season, being restricted to just 183 minutes of football due to a mixture of injury woes and seemingly falling out of favour with manager Arteta.
This lack of game time has notably led to speculation around the player’s future at the Emirates Stadium but, speaking in an interview with the Times, the midfielder dispelled any doubts about where he’d be playing his football next season:
“Arsenal are my club and I’m not going to give up until [Arteta] says he doesn’t want me. But that’s not the case. He wants me as part of the team and I want to fight for my place and get back in the team.”
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Smith Rowe also gave an insight into the injury issues which led to a lengthy spell on the sidelines: “Last season [2021/22] I had an injection which would make me not feel my groin at all, even when kicking the ball. That was the only thing helping me get through games.
“But at the start of this season I was still feeling it and felt I couldn’t just keep having injections for the rest of my career. I got to Manchester United away [last September] and took a shot, off balance, but tried to use all my power. I knew as soon as I done it, I’d torn something.”
“I actually got really upset. I was scared. I’d never had surgery before. They basically had to cut something and put it back together.”
Smith Rowe will be hoping to stay injury-free during the 2023/24 season – a season in which Arsenal will be expected to challenge for the Premier League title once again after narrowly missing out to Man City last time out.
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