‘Yes’: Mikel Arteta says 22-year-old Arsenal player he really likes could well start vs Oxford tonight

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Arsenal finally get their FA Cup campaign started tonight when they travel to Oxford United.

They’ll want to heed the warnings of the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle would suffered shocks this weekend.

Speaking to the press, Mikel Arteta has provided an update on his squad going into the game.

All eyes will be on how strong Arteta decides to go today.

His insistence on barely rotating his team in the league could see plenty of fringe players given a go tonight.

Arteta has already used the Europa League and Carabao Cup to rotate heavily this season.

The opportunity to impress and potentially break into Arteta’s league side should be ample motivation for whoever plays this evening.

Arteta has now said that there’s a chance that Emile Smith Rowe could start against Oxford.

It would be the 22-year-old’s first start of the season, and first appearance since October.

A persistent groin injury has scuppered his campaign, and Arteta has now challenged Smith Rowe to hit the ground running.

Smith Rowe could start for Arsenal tonight

Speaking to the media ahead of this evening’s game, Arteta said: “Yes [he has a chance of playing].

“He knows that he has the space in the squad to fulfil his potential, that we really like him and I really like him and he’s a really important player for us.

“He knows that, now he needs to jump on the train fast enough to have the impact we hope he can have this season.”

Arteta has previously said how much he needs Smith Rowe going into the second half of the season.

The loss of Gabriel Jesus has sharpened Arteta’s need to have the young attacker back fighting fit quickly.

Although Smith Rowe won’t be playing as a centre-forward any time soon, he does allow Arteta to be more tactically flexible.

If Smith Rowe was fit enough to start tonight, it would be a huge boost.

However, Arteta will want to be so careful with managing his minutes, and making sure he doesn’t suffer a recurrence of his groin problem.