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Arsenal have ‘no intention’ of letting midfielder leave this summer despite exit rumours

The Gunners are set to keep hold of their talent


Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have ‘no intention’ of letting young star Emile Smith Rowe leave the club this summer despite speculation that this season could have been his last in an Arsenal shirt.

Last season’s top goalscorer for the club, this season has been a disrupted one for Smith Rowe. He failed to start a Premier League game, and required surgery after picking up an injury in the warmdown at Old Trafford following their 3-1 defeat in September.

He was a late substitute for the final game of the season, picking up his second assist of the campaign as Arsenal thrashed Wolves 5-0, but his sparing usage by Mikel Arteta led plenty to fear that his time in north London may be up, with Fabio Vieira often turned to from the substitutes bench ahead of the Englishman.

According to the Athletic, however, Smith Rowe ‘remains an important part of Mikel Arteta’s plans’ for the future, which means that they will resist any attempts from other clubs around the Premier League who may sense a bargain, with Aston Villa having previously made three bids for the youngster and now managed by the man who gave him his Arsenal debut in the form of Unai Emery.

They add that the ‘hope is he shines at the U21 EURO & in pre-season before big 23/24′, though quite where he figures in Mikel Arteta’s plans in the longer term remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the club have ‘recently communicated very clearly to ESR that he is part of the plans for next season’.

It is set to be a big summer for the Gunners, who wish to bring in two more midfielders amid links to both West Ham’s Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo of Brighton, though they are set to lose Granit Xhaka.

If Smith-Rowe can rediscover his 2021-22 form, however, he could be just as big an addition as any of those brought in.

Read more:

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Ben Browning

Ben Browning

Football writer and analyst. Long-time writer of all things Arsenal and avid watcher of European football. Happy to discuss all things football over on Twitter.


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