Arteta gives Smith Rowe injury update after Arsenal win at Leicester

Mikel Arteta gave an update on Emile Smith Rowe's injury after Arsenal's win at Leicester City on Sunday afternoon.

Smith Rowe hobbled off in the first half of Arsenal's 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium, with Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard brought on as his replacement.

Arteta spoke about the 20-year-old's condition post-match, expressing his hope that an emerging star won't be out of action for any length of time.

What was said?

"It was a muscular injury, he wasn't feeling very comfortable so we decided to take him out," said the Spaniard.

"Hopefully it's not too bad."

Arteta added on the increased risk of injury caused by this season's fixture schedule: "It's insane the number of games and minutes these players are playing without any pre-season or break."

How many games could Smith Rowe miss?

Smith Rowe will have to be assessed by Arsenal's medical team before an official timeframe can be given on his recovery, but he could be a doubt for the club's next Premier League fixture away at Burnley on Saturday.

If he ends up missing that fixture, supporters will hope that the midfielder, who has scored five goals in 22 games this season, can return in time for a Europa League round-of-16 first-leg date with Olympiacos on March 11.

How did Arsenal beat Leicester? 

Arsenal got off to the worst possible start at the King Power when Youri Tielemans capitalised on some sloppy defending from the visitors to fire home the opening goal in the sixth minute.

However, Arteta's men responded by taking the game to the Foxes and got their reward for pushing forward in numbers when David Luiz headed in a Willian free kick six minutes before the interval.

The Gunners completed the turnaround in stoppage time at the end of the first half, with Alexandre Lacazette scoring from the penalty spot after Wilfred Ndidi was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.

Nicolas Pepe rounded off the scoring in the 52nd minute when he tapped in from close range, leaving Arteta gleaming with delight on the touchline.

"I'm really proud of the team, the character we showed," said the Arsenal head coach. "We looked composed, confident, the energy and the positiveness around the team was really good."

Further reading

• Arsenal break six-year hoodoo with Leicester win
• Better late than never: Willian finally turns up for Arsenal
• Tierney ‘knackered’ after injury-enforced absence at Arsenal