Man of the Match Smith Rowe on what inspired him

After putting in a man-of-the-match display against Luton Town, Emile Smith Rowe admitted that Mikel Arteta’s challenge to his players to make moments helped spur him on.

The Hale End product was handed just his third league start of the season and his first since January, but he sparkled in our midfield by playing his part in both of our goals in our 2-0 win over the Hatters.

And after the boss had used his pre-match press conference to give a rallying cry to those members of his squad who haven’t featured as much, Emile certainly heeded those words after he was one of five changes to the side that drew with Manchester City on Sunday

“It inspires me a lot and I’m sure the other players,” he said. “It’s been a really tough season for me and some of the other players haven’t played as much as we’d have liked to. It’s important that we came in tonight and put in a performance and show the manager that we can be a part of this team.

“He told us [they were starting] this morning, but I think it just shows the mentality of the team. All season, the boys are ready to step in and put in a performance and I think it just shows how tight we are as a team - it’s like a family. We’re really happy that players can come in and still perform. That’s what it’s about, the strength in depth is really good.”

Emile was pivotal in helping us stretch our winning run to nine in our last 10 Premier League games, winning the ball and starting the move that led to Martin Odegaard’s opener before putting in a teasing cutback that caused Daiki Hashioka to put the ball into his own net.

And he feels the 85 minutes he got under his belt - the most he’s played in a league game since April 2022 - will stand him in good stead for the plethora of huge matches on the horizon, although he wished he could have made even more of an impact!

“I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t get a goal tonight because it’s been so long, but I’m really happy with being part of two goals,” he added. “I think getting a clean sheet was really important for us. We’re delighted.

“I got really tired at the end to be fair! Obviously, I haven’t played a lot and I think that shows. I’m really happy with my performance and minutes tonight so let’s see what’s next.”