It's been a tough year for Emile Smith Rowe. The Hale Ender was Arsenal's second highest scorer behind Bukayo Saka in 2021/22, but failed to start a single match in any competition in 2022/23.
There were a myriad of reasons for this. The primary one is of course his injury. Smith Rowe had been struggling with pain from a groin injury since his teen years and finally took the decision to get it sorted once and for all with surgery at the start of this season. That would ultimately rule him out for five months, before a series of false starts around the New Year saw his progress disrupted further.
For the last few months of the season though, the 23-year-old was back fully fit and pain free. He lost weight, was impressing in training and set personal bests for his physicality. Still though his wait for a route back in to the Arsenal first team would continue.
