Emile Smith Rowe was substituted against West Brom on Sunday so what’s the latest on his fitness?

Emile Smith Rowe scored his first Premier League goal to open the scoring against West Brom but was taken off after 63 minutes with a problem in his thigh.

With so few games remaining, any hamstring injury would likely mean an end to Smith Rowe’s season. Even though Arsenal are only playing in the hopes of a miracle that would see them sneak into the Europa League places, his presence in the side lifts not only the team but the fans, as well.

“I don’t know [what the problem is], he felt something in his hamstring so we took him off,” Arteta told reporters after the game.

“I don’t know [if he could be out for a while]. Sometimes he cramps and that’s something that’s been happening for a while because he’s still adapting to the league, to the amount of games every three days. Hopefully it’s nothing major.”

Arteta was then asked about the possibility of David Luiz, Pablo Mari or Granit Xhaka returning for the Chelsea game and he said, “Let’s see how they recover. Again, we’ve lost so many players in recent weeks, so many big players. They have a huge effect in the team and it will be great because we have a very difficult game against [Chelsea].”

It is notable that, while Arsenal have had some injuries to big players this season, we’ve certainly seen much more serious injury crises over the years. Previous managers have been less inclined to make excuses because of them.