September 20th 2023.
Emile Smith Rowe made his long-awaited return to the Arsenal team on Wednesday night as the Gunners secured an impressive 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven in their opening Champions League group stage match.
The 23-year-old academy graduate came off the bench with 20 minutes remaining and was met with a rousing reception from the home fans, delighted to see one of their own back in action.
It was Smith Rowe's first appearance of the season after Arsenal rejected Chelsea's late summer transfer window approach for the attacking midfielder.
Mikel Arteta was left 'really happy' with Smith Rowe's contribution and with the array of options he now has at his disposal, with Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson and Jorginho also coming on and impressing.
Speaking about his selection headaches, Arteta told TNT Sports: 'Good headaches! It’s probably the hardest thing in this job because you get emotionally attached to them. It’s been a beautiful journey with them. When you don’t play a play, you know how the player feels. And you cannot do anything against it. You just have to play him.'
He added: 'And for Emile, especially, I was really happy. He got an incredible reception, so he should be really proud.'
The result sent a warning out to Europe's elite of Arsenal's Champions League credentials and Arteta was pleased with the performance.
'It was a beautiful night after such a long time,' he said. 'We wanted to produce the right performance to win the game. It was great to see the atmosphere and the Champions League music. Everyone was getting a bit emotional before it. We showed in both boxes today I think we were exceptional. That was the difference today I think.'
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