"Bit surprised that this hasn't been addressed" - Injury expert says Arsenal star could need surgery to recover from 'highly unusual' problem 

According to injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the site Premier Injuries, Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe might have to undergo surgery after sustaining a groin issue.

Smith Rowe sustained the injury after the Gunners suffered a 3-1 defeat against Manchester United in the Premier League on September 4.

Smith Rowe has been nursing his groin issues for several months now and is yet to start a match for the north London side this term. He was not part of the Arsenal squad that faced FC Zurich in the Europa League on September 8.

Mikel Arteta spoke about his creative midfielder ahead of the clash against Zurich (via The Sun):

"He wasn’t comfortable after the game and he hasn’t trained in the last few days, so he’s out of the squad."

Dinnery told Football Insider that the Gunners' No. 10 might have to go under the knife in a bid to resolve his long-term injury problem. He said:

"There has been concern about his groin stretching back to December 2021. It hampered him throughout the second half of last season and over the close season. I am a bit surprised that this hasn’t been addressed up until this point.

"Maybe the ongoing efforts to manage this conservatively aren’t working. Maybe this latest setback may plant further seeds to say they have to go down the surgical route to address this problem. It’s highly unusual to get an injury in post-match situations."

The young midfielder was one of the best performers for Arteta's team during the 2021-22 campaign. In 37 games across competitions, he scored 11 goals and provided two assists. However, due to his lingering injury issues, Arteta has been unable to use the player's creative flair to full effect this season.

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Former Arsenal star sets goal for Mikel Arteta this season

Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta

Arsenal have gotten off to a great start to their Premier League campaign as they have won five of their six games so far, accumulating 15 points and sitting at the top of the table.

However, former left-back Nigel Winterburn believes the Gunners will have to secure a top-four finish to return to the Champions League in a bid to call it a successful campaign. He said (via the the Daily Star):

"Arsenal’s aim is to get into the top four this season but I still think it’ll be a massive fight. Consistency is going to be key. They didn’t show enough of that last season."

He added that the Gunners will have to do well in the cup competitions as well. He said:

"They’ll be hoping to get to all those [Europa League and FA Cup] finals, and on top of that, they will be expected to get into the top four.”