Emile Smith Rowe is expected to start away to Oxford United in the FA Cup on Monday, according to a report.
Amy Lawrence reports for The Athletic that Emile Smith Rowe’s return is now imminent, and he’s expected to start away to Oxford United in the FA Cup on Monday night.
Smith Rowe missed out on the Arsenal squad to face Newcastle United on Tuesday, but he’s clearly getting closer to his injury comeback.
The England international hasn’t played since the Manchester United match in September, rejoining training with the squad in recent days.
Football.London had reported that he was expected to be in full training in the next couple of weeks. But this latest update from The Athletic suggests it could be even sooner than that.
The Oxford United game is obviously a good one to get Smith Rowe involved, if he’s ready for it.
Arsenal’s subsequent games are an away trip to Tottenham Hotspur before hosting one of the form teams in the Premier League – Manchester United. Neither of those matches are ideal for a comeback game.
Yet Smith Rowe would ideally be available for both fixtures. At the moment, Arsenal have very few attacking options on the bench, particularly goalscorers.
The Gunners are in the market to sign a new winger, but until that happens, Smith Rowe could be their best bet to add goals to the squad.
With almost a week’s break between the Oxford United game and the Spurs clash, Mikel Arteta doesn’t need to choose between the two games.
Smith Rowe has more than enough time to start the first and then recover to make the squad for the second.
