Tony Adams has slammed Mikel Arteta for his reluctance to rotate the Arsenal squad this season, claiming that Emile Smith Rowe in particular should have played a greater role. The 22-year-old midfielder missed a large majority of the Gunners' title campaign through injury though, but even upon his return he was hardly ever thrown into the starting line-up.
Smith Rowe, who sees his contract at the Emirates Stadium expire in 2026, has featured just 11 times in the Premier League this term – and all of which have come from off the bench. He enjoyed a spectacular vein of form towards the end of last season but he's recently been reduced to cameo displays.
The England international was an unused substitute in the 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest over the weekend. With Arsenal in desperate need of a creative spark to reignite their title hopes, Adams was left bemused as to why Smith Rowe wasn't brought on.
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Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Gunners captain claimed that Arteta only has himself to blame for the north Londoners' poor form of late. Adams said: "We’ve depended on Martinelli and Saka for most of the season.
"To give them a rest now and again, they could have given Emile a bit more air time for me. He could have subbed Martinelli and let him play off the left-hand side.
"Just because we’re always going to need them. We need them to get over the line. I’ve been waiting for the errors to come and they weren’t coming. Everything was stable.
"We had it going on. But as soon as the resources, a couple of injuries, people lost their form, it just didn’t work. I think it’s been lost three months ago."
In March, Arteta revealed what Smith Rowe must 'prove' to get back into the starting line-up following his return from injury. Speaking to football.london, the Gunners boss said: "He knows how much we love him and how much we missed him and how much we need his qualities.
"Now he needs to prove it and how much he wants to win and how much he’s going to contribute to this team to be better. He’s gonna have to show that to get in the team."
Then, when asked how he'll manage Smith Rowe's minutes, Arteta replied: "I think we have to manage his load, but for sure he’s in a position where we can throw him in at any moment. Then it’s about how he’s coping with the game in general and whether to take him off or use him for the last few minutes of the game."
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