Arsenal suffer 'disappointing blow' over £80k-a-week star before Tottenham

Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe’s injury is a “disappointing” outcome for the north Londoners, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The £80,000 per-week man has been out for the last couple of games through injury and is now set to be on the sidelines for another month or so having suffered a setback.

Smith Rowe has missed the last two games following a groin problem sustained in the defeat at Old Trafford last month.

But the Gunners were hoping the England international would be fit enough to return to action for their hectic October and November schedule.

However, Arsenal confirmed on Thursday that Smith Rowe has been suffering from ‘discomfort’ in his groin and has since undergone surgery on the issue.

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As a result, the 22-year-old has been ruled out of action until December, where he’s expected to return to training.

But the injury could see Smith Rowe miss around 10 games in the Premier League and Europa League and Jones reckons it’s a big blow for Arsenal, who failed to sign a wide player in the summer window.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s disappointing. Obviously Arsenal didn’t get the wide player they wanted in the last transfer window and one of the things that would have given them some optimism would have been the fact that Smith Rowe was there ready to take his chance when it came, so to not have him available right now, that’s the layer of depth that they’re going to need to call upon.”

Smith Rowe might not have started a Premier League game this season, but his absence could prove an issue for Arteta in the long run.

That’s because the Gunners have 13 games before the World Cup starts in