Emile Smith Rowe is hoping to return to competitive match action at the start of January, and he’ll join the Arsenal squad in Dubai.

The Evening Standard report that Emile Smith Rowe will join Mikel Arteta’s squad when they head off to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp in December, but he won’t be involved in full training immediately.

As it stands, Arsenal are hoping to reintegrate Smith Rowe by the end of that Dubai trip, which concludes on December 14th.

The 22-year-old’s recovery from groin surgery is reportedly going well, and he’s hoping to be match fit by the start of January.

Due to their League Cup exit last week, Arsenal won’t have any games before Christmas, but they do have a couple of fixtures between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

After that, there are clashes against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United in January, as well as an FA Cup clash and potentially the rearranged league fixture against Everton.

It would be a boost to have Smith Rowe available then, particularly adding his goalscoring prowess back into the squad.

The World Cup has generally been a bit of an inconvenience for the Arsenal squad, with most of the team fit and in great form lately. Five points clear at the top of the Premier League, Arteta will hope his side don’t lose momentum over the break.

But for Smith Rowe, the break is an opporunity to work on his fitness without missing any further fixtures for another month and a half.