Emile Smith Rowe 'looks down' at Arsenal after confirmed news - pundit
Alan Hutton has suggested Emile Smith Rowe is unhappy at Arsenal this season.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Tottenham and Aston Villa right-back said Smith Rowe hasn't been given the game time he wants by manager Mikel Arteta.
Smith Rowe, 22, did not travel with the Gunners to Switzerland for their Europa League game against Zurich last Thursday (8 September).
Speaking to club media (7 September), Arteta confirmed the attacking midfielder has been dealing with discomfort for a few weeks and did not take part in training last week.
Smith Rowe limped out of the warm down session at Old Trafford following a 3-1 defeat to Man United last Sunday (4 September).
Hutton said it is up to Smith Rowe to recover and fight for his place in the team.
"I think it’s been a difficult start to the season for him," he told Football Insider.
"I mean, he’s still a very young player, he came in and he was one of the reasons they did well last season, him and the likes of [Bukayo] Saka really set it alight.
"With the players that are coming in, I don’t think he’s really had the game time that he was after. You can see just in his demeanour, he looks a little bit down, he’s not as happy as he was last season.
"Getting an injury at this point in time is not ideal, especially if you’re not a main player within that team. So it’s really about him recovering from this and getting back to where he was.
"We know he’s a great player but you have to show the manager that you can do it on a consistent basis."