Emile Smith Rowe Arsenal future takes a new twist as Newcastle plan transfer ‘meeting’
Emile Smith Rowe, the prominent player from Arsenal, might leave the club during the January transfer window, despite Mikel Arteta’s strong stance when he faced transfer rumors over the summer.
Smith Rowe’s growth has been significantly hampered by injuries in recent seasons, and there have been speculations about interest from Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Chelsea in securing his services.
However, come September 1, Smith Rowe remained an Arsenal player, proving Arteta correct in his statement made just 48 hours prior to the transfer window’s closure.
When Arteta was asked if Smith Rowe would remain part of the squad after the transfer deadline had passed, he simply replied, “Yes.”
“I had a conversation with him and it’s important to understand where he is,” the Spaniard added.
“The first three or four weeks were always going to be tricky for all the clubs. You see all the rumours and players who are not happy in every country because it’s one game per week for a month and everybody has a new season with huge aspirations, there are not minutes for everybody. September will be very different.”
Since then, Smith Rowe has had minimal playing time in the Premier League, with just 10 minutes of action, and his only start came in the Carabao Cup match against Brentford.
Even though injuries have affected players like Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, and Leandro Trossard, Arteta has chosen not to provide Smith Rowe with an extended opportunity to showcase his abilities.
Consequently, Newcastle appears to have intensified their interest in the 23-year-old ahead of the winter transfer window.
According to Scott Wilson, a journalist from the Northern Echo, the Magpies’ ownership group is scheduled for a transfer discussion later this month, with Smith Rowe being considered as a potential early target.
Despite his limited time on the field, Arteta’s most recent statement about Smith Rowe suggests that he is not keen on letting go of the player.
“Here he is incredibly popular,” he in September. “We all love him. It’s no different to what the people feel to what we feel about him.
“There’s been many reasons why he hasn’t started a match. He was out for a long, long time. He had a sequence of matches that he played with the national team, then he came in and didn’t participate. In the last two matches he’s played more minutes and tomorrow (against Brentford) he will have a big chance to show that he can play at this level and be a really important player for us.”
Smith Rowe ultimately played 82 minutes in that match, and his performance in midfield received positive feedback.
After the game, the Spaniard stated: “He’s very vertical. You see when he’s arriving in the box. We need him at his best. Now he’s starting to get more minutes.”
Emile Smith Rowe Arsenal future takes a new twist as Newcastle plan transfer ‘meeting’