Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has hailed Emile Smith Rowe as the Gunners academy graduate prepares to make his return from injury in Monday night's FA Cup tie against Oxford.
Mikel Arteta has been without Smith Rowe's services since September after the 22-year-old underwent groin surgery in a bid to finally solve a long-term issue. But the highly-rated midfielder is set to make a timely return to the fold as Arsenal continue their bid to make the 2022/23 campaign one to remember.
Smith Rowe is expected to make his comeback against Oxford, who will be bidding to cause the biggest upset of the FA Cup so far this term when they host Arsenal at the Kassam Stadium.
And ahead of Monday's match, fresh footage has emerged of Smith Rowe being talked up by Odegaard. In a clip, the pair can be seen walking down to the training fields at London Colney before Odegaard quips: "Emilovic is back! Come on, say something!"
Smith Rowe smiles before responding: "What do you want me to say? I’m with my captain, training day, can’t complain - happy days man!"
Smith Rowe's return will come as a welcome boost to Arteta, who is still chasing attacking reinforcements in the transfer window after Gabriel Jesus was ruled out for up to three months following knee surgery.
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Ahead of Monday's trip to Oxford, the Spaniard was quick to laud Smith Rowe's versatility: the England star is capable of playing anywhere along the forward line, including as a false nine.
Arteta told reporters: "He [Smith Rowe] knows that he has the space in the squad to fulfil his potential. We really like him, I really like him, and he is a very important player for us.
"He knows that now he needs to jump on the train fast enough to have the impact that we all hope that he can have this season.
"He can play as a left attacking midfielder, on the right, he can play off the left as well. Those qualities within those units on the outside is something that he compliments really well with. We will exploit that."
Smith Rowe returns to the fold with the Gunners top of the Premier League, five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City. But the FA Cup is now firmly on the agenda for the Londoners.
No team has won the FA Cup more times than Arsenal (14) - and Arteta is determined to continue that proud tradition.
"It is obviously a competition that is attached to the successful history of this club, so on Monday, we’ll have a good start and a good test,” the Gunners boss added when asked about the FA Cup. "We have to take the competition and the opponent very seriously and play well, to a high level to win the match.
"It is a competition that we are really looking forward to playing in and brings back huge memories to our football club and the team because not many years ago we won it, but also last year how we went out of the competition. It’s a competition that we really want to play in and compete."
