Emile Smith Rowe was welcomed back to training with a round of applause from his teammates after five weeks sidelined by a knee injury.
The medical team picked up on the issue after the midfielder made his first Premier League start of the season against Sheffield United in October. It was labelled a “big worry” by Mikel Arteta at the time and he’s subsequently missed nine matches across three competitions.
While it remains to be seen whether the England international is fit enough to be part of tomorrow’s squad to take on PSV Eindhoven, that he’s edging closer to full fitness is definitely welcome. All the more so given the news of a recent surgery for Fabio Vieira.
No Gabriel Martinelli at Arsenal training this morning due to illness. Unlikely to travel to Eindhoven later.
No Bukayo Saka due to knock on foot, but he is likely to travel.
Emile Smith Rowe back training with group. Decision on whether he travels to be taken post session.
— Simon Collings (@sr_collings) December 11, 2023
Having already secured top spot in Champions League Group B, Arteta will likely rotate his squad to ensure key players are rested for Sunday’s visit of Brighton.
The Arsenal press corps reported that Bukayo Saka skipped training today with a knock – he’s still expected to fly this afternoon – while Gabriel Martinelli was absent due to illness.
That should open the door for Reiss Nelson to feature while youngster Charles Sagoe Jr, who made his debut in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season, will also be hoping for a chance. Fellow teenagers Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly also trained today and should make the bench.
We should get a clearer idea of the squad later this afternoon but we can already rule out long-term absentees Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, the aforementioned Vieira and Jurrien Timber.
Saka ‘is lively to travel’.
Ffs, just leave hin at home. Please & thanks.
I think Kane will play tomorrow. We’ve seen Ronaldo, Messi, Lewandowski, Mbappe, Neymar etc start dead rubber games regularly in the past. This might be a nightmare to us the fans and the manager but players his level insist on these games for known reasons. Look at the goals/assists involvement this season in the CL and Saka is top. As much as we want him home and rested if I am Saka I am thinking; well if we win it this year and I have one or two goals/assists more I’d stand a chance of winning the Balon D’Or. Unless… Read more »
To be fair it’s nice for the team spirit for him to travel, even if he doesn’t play (which I sure damn hope he doesn’t) I’m sure the academy kids will feel it’s a more serious occasion when he’s there. Plus Bukayo gets to go to Holland for free and have some legal puffs in a coffee shop to numb the foot pain and trip out to champions league music, why would you take that away from him?
Give some kids a game, Walters in at right back.Nwaneri in midfield, rest Saka and put Nelson on the wing.
What the hell is going on with Saka likely to travel ?
Lad must be covered in bruises after those last ganes and zero referee protection
I so hope ESR gets back and sustains it this time❤️
I pray for it. The boy is one of my favorites. With Odegaard, Matrinelli and even Trossard, I fear ESR will rarely starts games and will have to leave. I am sad already.
I hear you. When he’s on his game, ESR offers the ability to drive at the opponents in the middle of the pitch that the players you named couldn’t/wouldn’t do.
Vicious circle for him really. At his best he’s not far off the other guys, but he needs games to hit top form, but won’t get those games with the players ahead of him and criticality of the fixture list. This fixture could easily end up being the last obvious one for him to start noting our cup draw and that’s likely to come too soon.
Indeed hope his footballing form rises up to the level of his majestic hair, seriously what is up with that, I’ve never seen that sort of gradient glowing colour on a person’s head before
He’s still hitting the weights it looks like. Emile Smith-Traore if he keeps it up. Just needs shorter sleeves.
Ramsdale
Soares Kivior
Elneny
Nelson
Fill the rest with academy players!
I was thinking Winterburn at LB myself
Hein teime.
Our 15-year-old Obi-Martin who scored 10 goals in one game should start with Duberry and Nwaneri.
Cedric!
Still serving a season long ban from the FA/PGMOL for over celebrating in those photos two years ago
Good and Trossard to
Jorghino and Eddie in there somwhere too.
But otherwise this should follow the Wenger approach of using the academy for these type of matches. We’re too thin in too many places to risk injuries and many of the starters were looking pretty tired by the end of things on Saturday.
We bless God Smith- Rowe is back. Let the second squad play tomorrow.
Don’t bet on the team Arteta will field in this game. While he may want to give players a good rest for this “dead rubber” of a game, he may also be having an eye on the 2million quid that comes with winning the game.
3 million euros
That’s one more Rob Holding purchase.
Or one gabby martinelli
Rob Holding not playing at Palace, AMN rarely in the team (not even on the bench) in a very very bad Lyon team. Jeez, what is happening to some of our tier-two players?
Don’t forget the OX. Liverpool paid near 35million for him. Iwobe at Fulham. Our players were overated maybe?
Iwobi is having the best year ever
‘Knock on foot’ aka removing Alex moreno’s studs from skin
One very useful thing (though it has a definite downside) would be to play Cedric at right back instead of White, with most of the rest of the first-choice eleven. With the unavaliability of Timber and Tomiyasu, an injury to White (or even Saliba, whose natural replacement is White) might mean relying on Cedric, at least in the short term. If not Cedric, then do the same thing for an academy player–let him play in a competitive match with the first team.
Want to see Walters, Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri at some point, this is the time to give them minutes
Second string for me. Won the group already, a much needed rest required before the weekend.
Totally agree, we should be making eleven changes.
Ramsdale
Soares, Walters, Kiwior, Sweet
Jorginho, Elneny
Nelson, Sagoe Jr., Trossard
Nketiah
Hein, Hillson, Monlouis, Sousa, Azeez, Ibrahim, Smith Rowe, Nwaneri, Cozier-Duberry, Taylor-Hart, Lewis-Skelly
Fantastic news. If we can get ESR fit then he could play an important part over the second half of the season. Ditto Partey and Timber.
We are at a crucial point of the season now: we need to make sure we stay in touch until the transfer window opens and then bring in a couple of quality signings. A STRIKER IS A MUST.
I don’t want to see a single first teamer against PSV. Save the quality for the weekend. That Brighton game is massive now: we must win it.
Who is your primary pick for January signings? I don’t think we’ll go for a forward until the summer…
That said the more I see of him the more I think Jarrod Bowen would be ideal for us – he has the skill set to step in for GJ like for like, and can also do the same for Saka – for me that’s where our summer spend should go
I’m a fan of Bowen too but I can’t see WHU selling him.
Ivan Toney would be perfect for us in January.
I think Toney would be a great signing – but I don’t think MA will be willing to spend the outlay on him. Talk of 70 odd million – this would be as a back up – and the quality he would add had pretty much been filled by Havertz. Toney would give us that target man that raya can hit – but KH and GJ do that for us already – and Toney doesn’t do the other things that GJ does. Bowen for me is the closest replicant of GJ in the way he plays – he can play… Read more »
Good points. But GJ has a nasty habit of getting injured and I’d be surprised if he makes it to the end of the season without yet another lay-off.
Toney is a better natural goalscorer than GJ but doesn’t do all that extra stuff that the Brazillian does.
If we offered Brenford Eddie plus some money for Toney they just might take it.
I won’t lie I was thinking the same thing – Eddie would be ideal for Brentford so there’s some potential for a swap there. I’m kinda loathed to lose a Hale End product who clearly brings a lot of positive attitude to the group, but…
I rate Eddie but I think he’ll do better as a main man than a back up, and I think we need more than an apprentice as a back up
That move would be great for both Arsenal and Eddie. He’s a decent striker but not top-six quality: Brentford is about his level. Eddie would get regular first-team football rather than sitting on our bench. And with Toney we would get a player who could get 25+ goals a season and win us a title.