Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that Emile Smith Rowe will be out for "weeks" with the knee injury that prevented him from turning out against West Ham United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening.
The England international has endured a torrid time with physical woes since his breakthrough 2021-22 campaign, missing a good chunk of last term following groin surgery as the Gunners engaged in a captivating two-horse title race with Manchester City.
Smith Rowe has only been a bit-part player for the Gunners since returning to fitness, largely due to the form of Gabriel Martinelli, but he made his first Premier League start for his boyhood club since May 2022 in the weekend's 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United.
The 23-year-old would have been expected to earn more minutes at the London Stadium on Wednesday, but he was a notable absentee from the team sheet, and Arsenal subsequently revealed that he was missing due to a knee problem.
Without Smith Rowe, Arsenal slumped to a 3-1 defeat to their capital rivals as they bowed out of the EFL Cup - a competition they have not won since 1993 - and Arteta was quizzed on the midfielder's condition after the game.
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The Spaniard did not have any positive news to share, confirming that Smith Rowe would join Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines for a while.
When asked if there was a timeframe for Smith Rowe's comeback, Arteta replied: "No. He's got an injury in his knee and he's going to be out for weeks," as quoted by football.london.
Arsenal's possession dominance against West Ham counted for nought in the first half, as Ben White headed into his own net from a Jarrod Bowen corner, although Aaron Ramsdale felt that he was being illegally impeded by Tomas Soucek.
Replays showed the Czech midfielder tugging on Ramsdale's shirt, but with no VAR in operation, West Ham's goal stood, and David Moyes's men hit the Gunners with two sucker-punches early in the second half as Bowen got in on the act alongside Mohammed Kudus.
Three goals was no less than West Ham deserved, as the Irons outfought Arsenal and caused constant problems with their intense pressing before Martin Odegaard bagged a consolation with the final kick of the game.
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VAR will not become active in the competition until the semi-finals, but Arteta does not believe that White's own goal would have been allowed to stand if technology was being used, adding: "For sure. If there's VAR, there's no goal for sure.
"I understand for the referees it's difficult because of the angle and the number of people there but again I don't want to use that as an excuse. We can still compete for the ball much better than we did and in that position. Obviously that takes [away] something in the game which is very important, momentum."
However, Arteta took responsibility for his side's elimination and was particularly despondent at the fact that his side failed to execute his game-plan, saying: "Very disappointed. I'm responsible for that.
"We're out of the cup and we wanted to play a very different game. Especially we wanted to compete in a very different way, that we discussed for 48 hours, in a very different way to what we've done."
While Arsenal have now been bested in EFL Cup and Champions League action this term, Arteta's men have the chance to make it 11 Premier League games unbeaten at the start of the 2023-24 season when they take on Newcastle United - who battered defending EFL Cup champions Manchester United 3-0 - on Saturday evening.
Ben Knapton
