Arsenal bid for Emi Buendia is reportedly in the pipeline / The importance of Smith-Rowe support at the Gunners
After weeks suggesting that Arsenal would be unable to pursue a deal for Norwich City’s Emi Buendia reports indicate a bid could be imminent.
Last Updated: January 11, 2021 7:06 pm
Arsenal’s Buendia bid
News that Arsenal fans will have been waiting some time for is the news of incomings at the club. Arsenal have been working hard on moving players out with the likes of Sead Kolasinac and William Saliba moving out of the club on loan already and Mesut Ozil, Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi could all still leave the club before the close of the winter window.
Nice’s French defender William Saliba (L) is challenged by Metz’s French forward Thierry Ambrose during the French L1 football match between Football Club de Metz and OGC Nice at the Saint-Symphorien Stadium in Longeville-Les-Metz, eastern France on January 9, 2021. (Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Should Arsenal achieve their task of moving on plenty of players and saving a significant amount of money regarding wages, this may then lead into recruitment of addition quality in a bid to help push themselves further up the table after an impressive turn of form.
The player on the agenda is that of Emi Buendia. Norwich City’s Argentinian talismanic figure has been a fulcrum in their challenge for promotion back to the Premier League after relegation last season, despite a spirited effort to stay in the division on the part of Daniel Farke and co.
A deal for the 24-year old seemed unlikely with previous reports suggesting that Arsenal would be unable or unwilling to pay the fee which Norwich City would be looking for.
However, there were suggestions that should Arsenal formalize their interest in the attacking midfielder the player could push for a move as he would like to play in the Premier League once again. The Guardian have now revealed that the formalization of their interest could be taking place and a bid imminent – the value of such a fee was not revealed.
Smith Rowe Support
The emergence of Emile Smith-Rowe as one of Arsenal’s top performers in the latter part of the first half of the season has been crucial to their league position and progression into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The man who spent the last part of the previous season on loan with Huddersfield scored in extra time to set up the beginning of a 2-0 victory against Newcastle. His emergence has been crucial to Arsenal’s increasing chance creation frequency which has led to a three-game winning streak with victories against Chelsea, Brighton and West Brom.
However, there have been concerning signs shown at the start of the match against Newcastle whereby Smith-Rowe was on the bench. Arsenal looked turgid in their play and were lacking the cutting-edge in the final third to create clear-cut opportunities and it was not until Smith-Rowe was brought on in the second half that the Gunners began to click and create better chances for their forwards.
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 29: Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal at American Express Community Stadium on December 29, 2020 in Brighton, England.The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Suggestions that the club could rely on Smith-Rowe for the duration of this season could be considered naive. With the situation of Covid-19 threatening to send players into self isolation, as has been seen with Arsenal defender Gabriel, were the England youth International to contract the virus he could be missing for a significant number of games and Arsenal would again be without their dynamic spark.
It is therefore imperative that should Arsenal be able to add creative quality during the January window it should be done. Whether that is in the form of a loan deal for a player until the summer whereby the club can then focus on a more permanent solution with further options available or to go all out and sign a player such as the aforementioned Buendia in this window.
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
Football Live streaming: Featured matches on January 17, 2020
| Game | Time | Predicted Score | Live Score Prediction/Live Score | How to Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Manchester City FC vs Crystal Palace FC | 17 January, 19:15 (In 24 minutes) | 2-0 | 2-0 |
Arsenal betting odds, next game:
Arsenal vs Newcastle odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Arsenal vs Newcastle Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 5/2 | 5/4 |
| Newcastle | 12/1 | 10/1 |
| Draw | 5/1 | 10/1 |
| Arsenal vs Newcastle Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 6/4 | 6/4 | 8/11 |
| Alexandre Lacazette | 7/4 | 7/4 | 5/6 |
| Eddie Nketiah | 2/1 | 2/1 | 20/21 |
| Folarin Balogun | 11/4 | 11/4 | 11/8 |
| Nicolas Pepe | 11/4 | 11/4 | 11/8 |
Arsenal's latest videos
Arsenal latest news
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United FC | 17 | 10 | 36 |
| 2 | Leicester City FC | 18 | 12 | 35 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 17 | 16 | 33 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 18 | 16 | 33 |
| 5 | Manchester City FC | 16 | 12 | 32 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 7 | Chelsea FC | 18 | 12 | 29 |
| 8 | Southampton FC | 18 | 5 | 29 |
| 9 | West Ham United FC | 18 | 4 | 29 |
| 10 | Aston Villa FC | 15 | 13 | 26 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 18 | 1 | 24 |
| 12 | Leeds United | 18 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 18 | -7 | 23 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 19 | -8 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle United FC | 17 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 19 | -7 | 17 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 17 | -13 | 16 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 17 | -11 | 12 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 18 | -27 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 19 | -22 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 12 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 11 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 11 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 8 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 6 |
| Abraham, Tammy | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 5 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 5 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Reid, Bobby | Fulham FC | 0 | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dunk, Lewis | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 4 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 5 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 5 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 4 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 5 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 4 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 4 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 5 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Harrison, Jack | Leeds United | 4 |
| Chilwell, Benjamin | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 4 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 3 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 3 |
