Mikel Arteta has backed Emile Smith Rowe to play a key role in helping Arsenal maintain their title challenge in the second half of the season.
Smith Rowe has been out since the start of September after undergoing surgery to fix a groin injury.
The 22-year-old midfielder has been restricted to just 48 minutes of football this season but he is closing in on a return to fitness and should be back at the start of January.
And Arteta has backed Smith Rowe to have a big impact, with the Gunners looking to stay ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
“Emile is close,” said Arteta, whose side are five points clear of City. “He had a setback but he’s there and he’s in a good place.
“We’ve done a lot of things with Emile. Sometimes he has been close, sometimes he has been in different places to see a different environment.
“His attitude has been great and this is part of any career, any development, to have periods where you are out and have long-term injuries.
“He needs to react to that, but for sure he has got all of our support and he is a huge talent that we need for the second part of the season at his best, because his contribution will be key to the team.”
Arsenal return to action at home to West Ham on Boxing Day, when Arteta will come up against his old Everton manager David Moyes.
“He had a huge impact, I’m so grateful first of all for the trust he showed in me and how much I learned from him on the field, off the field about building a team, about getting the right characters in the team to build what you want,” said Arteta.
“He was extremely supportive all the time with everything we did together. I had incredible memories with him because we had a very successful time.
“[West Ham] are very dangerous because I know for sure he has been working the team really, really hard. Since he took over he absolutely maximised the potential of that team and took the team to a different level.
“I am sure they have been working really hard, like we have all been, in this period and I am sure it will be a very difficult contest.”
