Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta now has a worrying injury update to contend with that has seen one of his young stars ruled out for a period of time during their busy run of fixtures.
Arsenal crash out of Carabao Cup
Despite making a very promising start to the Premier League campaign, Arsenal suffered humiliation during the week in the EFL Cup Round of 16, where they were convincingly defeated by West Ham United 3-1 at the London Stadium. An own goal from Ben White and strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen made a last-gasp consolation by Martin Odegaard worthless, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth for Gunners midfielder Declan Rice upon his return to east London.
Speaking in his post-match press conference cited by BBC Sport, Arsenal manager Arteta took the blame for his side’s poor performance against West Ham, as he stated: “I’m very disappointed. I’m responsible for that. We’re out of the Cup, we wanted to play a very different game and compete. The game took a direction because of the first goal but we have to see much more from the team and earn the right to win.”
He then added: “I’m disappointed with myself. We wanted to play in a different way and we weren’t able to do that. Every time we lose the pain is there. We have to use this pain and this defeat to prepare the best way for Newcastle on Saturday.”
According to an injury update from The Daily Mail, Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus wasn’t risked against West Ham; however, he could be available to play a part against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Saturday evening as he nears a return from a hamstring issue.
Nevertheless, Gunners boss Arteta has confirmed that one of his men won’t be available to face the Magpies, which will come as a blow during a congested period for his squad to contend with.
Arsenal’s next five fixtures – all competitions | |
Competition | Opponent |
Premier League | Newcastle United (A) |
Champions League | Sevilla (H) |
Premier League | Burnley (H) |
Premier League | Brentford (A) |
Champions League | Lens (H) |
Emile Smith Rowe now injured, confirms Arteta
Cited by The Evening Standard, Arsenal head coach Arteta confirmed that playmaker Emile Smith Rowe missed the tie against West Ham due to a knee injury and detailed that the England Under-21 international is now set to spend a period on the treatment table.
In the aftermath of their cup defeat against David Moyes and company, Arteta told the press: “He’s got an injury in his knee and he’s going to be out for weeks.”
Smith Rowe has endured a frustrating 2023/24 campaign ravaged by injury niggles and inconsistency, leading the midfielder to feature just eight times for the Gunners across all competitions, registering one assist in the process (Smith Rowe statistics – Transfermarkt).
Labelled a “special talent” by pundit Jamie Carragher back in 2021, Smith Rowe has struggled to live up to the hype bestowed upon his shoulders shortly after his first-team breakthrough at the Emirates Stadium and has even been linked with a move to West Ham United.
Arsenal fans will be hopeful the 23-year-old can recover swiftly and return ready to make an impact for the Premier League title challengers across the remainder of the campaign.
