When Arsenal took on Bournemouth in the preseason opener, there was a noticeable absence in the playing squad, as Emile Smith Rowe was not selected for clash and when Mikel Arteta stated in the post-match conference that “things are happening in the background”, it became evident that Smith Rowe is odds on to leave the club to Fulham for a club record deal of £35 million. A couple of weeks ago, Fulham placed a reported bid of £25 million for Emile Smith Rowe, which was rejected by Arsenal. Their intentions to get the Arsenal midfielder have been clear, especially with Willian set to leave for the petro-greens of Saudi Arabia.
In the last 31 games Smith Rowe has been available for selection, he has started only four of them, the narrow win over Brentford in the EFL Cup, the 5-0 demolition of Sheffield United, the narrow victory over Nottingham Forest and the routine win over Luton. In the course of the entire campaign, Smith Rowe made 13 appearances in the Premier League (three starts, 10 subs), three substitute appearances in the Champions League, one substitute appearance in the FA Cup and one substitute appearance in the Community Shield.
These sporadic appearances for the English midfielder is a clear indication of how much of a peripheral player he has become at Arsenal which is a far cry from the consistency he produced in the 2021/22 season where he was the club’s second highest goalscorer after Bukayo Saka. I got really nostalgic after reading this article on Arseblog when Smith Rowe had us rocking all over the world. It was amazing seeing the Hale End graduate shine like a star alongside Saka in that campaign, scoring 11 goals in the stellar outing for the Gunners.
Yes, Smith Rowe has had his major struggles with injury, and did well to rehabilitate himself after a successful groin surgery, but when the wolves of English football came sniffing around for his services, Arsenal made their intentions clear that he was not for sale. One can look at this as a show of faith from the club but the painful truth is that Smith Rowe has found games hard to come by and is wasting away at the trenches of the club’s dugout doldrums.
With this much bench time for a 24-year-old who still has a lot to offer, surely he would start agitating for a move elsewhere, just like Albert Sambi Lokonga did. Sure, he might not be as naturally talented as Smith Rowe, but he arrived at the Emirates with some fanfare and as soon as he realized that he was never going to be a first team regular, he bet on himself and facilitated moves out of the club, which has included two loan spells at Crystal Palace last season, and Luton Town. Following the conclusion of the loan stint with Luton, and his services weren’t retained by the relegated outfit Lokonga was actively seeking a move out of Arsenal, and his agent is doing his bit to earn his next pay day for his client following a move to Andalusia.
Smith Rowe, on the other hand, is an Arsenal fan by heart and will have probably preferred to establish a name for himself at the Emirates while donning the #10 jersey, but Arsenal is at an elite level now, competing for the Premier League and going far in Europe, so the club can do better than the likes of Smith Rowe if they intend to achieve those aims.
Yes, there’s the sentiment factor where many fans live Smith Rowe and want him to succeed at North London, but they will need to brace themselves to see him only in lower card contests like the EFL Cup and FA Cup, while managing the usual substitute appearances he has become accustomed to getting in recent campaigns.
With Fulham’s offer for Smith Rowe being genuine, we have to brace ourselves for life without him, and in all honesty, I don’t think we will miss him.
Sayonara.
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