Smith Rowe interview: Arteta even trash-talks me at ten-pin bowling

There is a decent chance that Emile Smith Rowe will end this 10-day tour of the US without having played much football.

He missed victory over Everton in Baltimore with a thigh issue that will also likely keep him out of Wednesday's friendly with Orlando City. Time will tell if he can make Saturday’s closing party against Chelsea.

Whatever happens, however, Smith Rowe will return to London having had his adrenaline fix. Having ticked another box off the list: on Thursday, he is among the Arsenal contingent heading to Universal Orlando.

‘I can’t wait,’ the 21-year-old says. ‘I grew up in Croydon, I’ve been to Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park and Alton Towers. I love it.’

Arsenal’s camp in Germany earlier this month served a useful purpose as he enjoyed his first 45 minutes of the season against Nurnberg. He saw another side to boss Mikel Arteta, too.

‘I really like bowling. We went in Germany and I won,’ Smith Rowe says. ‘Me and the gaffer were going head to head because we were on the lanes next to each other. I was surprised, to be fair, to see how competitive he was.’ Arteta was even trash-talking his No 10. ‘It was funny,’ he adds.

Those extra-curricular hobbies — bowling, table tennis and cinema — came in handy as injury and illness disrupted his progress last season.

‘I have good people around me... they always keep me happy and I just like to spend time with them when I do go through these hard times,’ he explains. ‘I’m quite strong in the head so I never really let the injuries get to me.’

This latest setback comes at the end of an undulating 12 months that began with such promise. A year ago this week, Smith Rowe signed a new long-term deal, taking the No 10 shirt. Four months later came a first