Emile Smith Rowe won Player of the Match in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Luton Town, capping off his eagerly awaited return to the starting lineup.

Following a dull draw with Manchester City the previous weekend, Mikel Arteta shuffled the pack and changed five players for Wednesday’s match at the Emirates.

Thomas Partey got his first start since August, while Gabriel Jesus and Declan Rice were benched for Reiss Nelson, who received his first league start since July 2020.

In addition, Leandro Trossard replaced Jakob Kiwior with Oleksandr Zinchenko. However, Emile Smith Rowe’s comeback was the most significant development.

The 23-year-old midfielder, making just his third Premier League start of the year, was instrumental in both goals as Martin Odegaard and an own goal from Daiki Hashioka clinched all three points.

With five minutes of normal time remaining, Smith Rowe was substituted off for Jorginho and received a well-earned standing ovation from the fans inside the Emirates.

In his post-match interview with TNT Sports, Arsenal’s number 10 spoke about that memorable ovation following the full-time whistle.

“It was amazing,” he said. “I’ve been here since the age of nine. To have that as I’m coming off…. I didn’t think I played great in the second-half but it’s really good to have that support from the fans.

“I feel it every time. Even when I’m warming up. It was an amazing night for me.”

As you can see from the footage below, a surprised Smith Rowe was soon taken aback, when Luton captain Tom Lockyer handed over the Player of the Match award.

“Wow. That’s surprising,” he smiled. “Thank you so much.”

Here’s how fans on social media reacted to Smith Rowe’s performance on Wednesday night.

One said: “Put in a shift today. He might even get a few more games this season if this game is anything to go by.”

A second wrote: “Has definitely shown that he can start the remaining games against lower ranked teams and hopefully sub on in the bigger games, considering the mad schedule we’ve got this month.”

A third commented: “My boy is finally back. Tears in my eyes,” while a fourth said: “His defensive effort today is what impressed me most. His pressing, intercepting, and tackling directly led to both our goals.”

A fifth added: “Words can’t describe the happiness that I’m feeling seeing ESR back in action. Hope he gets a goal next time.”

Image credit: Getty

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Smith Rowe in his post-match assessment of the game.

“I love him as a player,” the Spaniard said. “He is a joy to watch. How he moves, how he changes direction, how physical he was today as well.

“He went to duels and he won a lot of them and he was thinking with that killer instinct to play forwards and to make things happen.”

At the time of writing, the Gunners sit one point ahead of title rivals Liverpool, who have a game in hand against struggling Sheffield United on Thursday.