Smith Rowe vows to ‘just go for it’ after ending 499-day wait for Arsenal start

Emile Smith Rowe says he feels like a new man, ready “just to go for it” and not worry about things going wrong, as he reflected on his return to the Arsenal starting lineup in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win at Brentford.

The 23-year-old previously began a game for his club on 16 May 2022 in the Premier League defeat at Newcastle, representing a gap of 499 days, and it has been a testing period for him, to put it mildly.

Smith Rowe’s season last time out for Arsenal was frustrating, especially after his rise to prominence that was ignited by his performance in the Boxing Day 2020 victory over Chelsea; he earned three England caps along the way.

The midfielder underwent surgery to repair a longstanding groin problem last September, which kept him out for four months, and he suffered a setback almost immediately that sidelined him for a further six weeks. 

He was restricted to eight substitute appearances for Arsenal over the remainder of the season, although he did play an important role for the England Under-21s in their European Championship triumph of the summer.

Mikel Arteta used Smith Rowe as the right-sided No 8 in his 4-3-3 system at Brentford in the player’s 100th Arsenal appearance. Smith Rowe has spoken in the past of how badly he suffers from pre-match nerves and says he has worked to overcome them. After a night of emotion, it was easy to hear the relief in his voice.

“I have changed a bit of my mentality … just to go for it,” Smith Rowe said. “I have not really got anything to lose. I have tried to change that inside me. I used to have a lot of doubts. I used to question my confidence, at times. But now I am really strong. I am feeling really fit and I am taking that into now.

“The gaffer has really helped me