Arsenal starlet Emile Smith Rowe has been in fine form for England's Under-21 side in recent days.
The talented playmaker came off the bench to score on Thursday when The Three Lions took on the Czech Republic in the opening match of their European Championships campaign. He then was named in the starting line-up on Sunday against Israel, scoring a hugely impressive goal from the edge of the area following some slick combination play.
Asked by the BBC to reflect upon the season just gone, Smith Rowe responded by saying: "[It was] definitely a tough season for myself, [with] injuries and stuff and then not quite getting back into the team. So, coming here with England has been great for me to get minutes and get some goals, I’m really happy at the moment.
“My main target right now is to get back into the Arsenal team, but obviously first we want to win this tournament. Hopefully, I can have a long future and get more England caps and make sure I’m fit for every game and play as many minutes as I can.”
Near the start of the 2022/23 campaign, the 22-year-old underwent groin surgery on a long-term issue, which eventually sidelined him for the best part of three months. Upon his return to fitness, he then strained his thigh, an additional frustrating setback considering he was watching the Gunners in the midst of a Premier League title race with eventual champions Manchester City.
Eventually, when he returned to full fitness he still was unable to fully break into Mikel Arteta's side. A few late substitute cameos were all he could manage, playing less than 200 minutes across all competitions.
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Arteta himself then accepted responsibility for some of his players struggling for form and game time, with Smith Rowe certainly one of the players that fans assumed the Spaniard was talking about. "I have to be critical of myself,” said Arteta last month.
"My job is to get the best out of 24 players we have available and I haven’t been able to do that. There are three or four I would say that still have huge potential but for different reasons, they haven’t been able to do that [this season].
"Whether it’s injuries or game time or whether it’s because I haven’t had the opportunity or I have decided not to play them enough."
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