ARSENAL have suffered a new injury blow with Emile Smith Rowe ruled out of the clash against West Ham.
The midfielder has been plagued by injuries in recent years which have limited his first-team opportunities.
Emile Smith Rowe missed the West Ham clash with an injury issueGetty
He made a rare start at the weekend as the Gunners thrashed Sheffield United 5-0.
But a problem with his knee has flared up once again with boss Mikel Arteta revealing Smith Rowe was not fit to play.
The midfielder had started the season injury-free and was in line to start at London Stadium after playing 82 minutes in the previous round of the Carabao Cup as Arsenal beat Brentford.
Smith-Rowe will now be assessed with Arsenal unlikely to risk the 23-year-old until he is 100 per cent fit.
Arteta said of his injury: “We’ve got an issue with him.
“He felt something in his knee and he started to feel some pain after the game and we are assessing it but yeah, a big worry with him.”
Arteta made several changes to the team that beat Sheffield United with Fabio Viera starting in midfield instead of Smith Rowe.
Kai Havertz and Jorginho also started which meant Declan Rice was left on the bench on his return to London Stadium.
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However the changes backfired as Ben White scored an own goal to give West Ham the lead in the cup tie, before Mohammed Kudus doubled the score.
Smith Rowe joins Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus as recent injury absentees with the latter expected to be out for several weeks.]
His injury has left fans disappointed with one saying: “What’s the actual point of life?”
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