Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Alan Smith says Mikel Arteta’s clearly not sure about 23-year-old Arsenal player
Alan Smith believes that Emile Smith Rowe must now be thinking about leaving Arsenal, admitting that he has gone backwards since bursting into the first-team.
Smith was speaking on the podcast with the 23-year-old still awaiting his first Premier League start for the Gunners since the 2021/22 season.
Emile Smith Rowe has had a torrid time with Arsenal. Certainly, few Gunners supporters would have anticipated that he would fall out of the fold so drastically over the last 12 months.
Unfortunately, he struggled with injury and only made 12 substitute appearances in the Premier League last season. And this campaign has hardly got off to a better start.
Alan Smith thinks Emile Smith Rowe could look to leave Arsenal
Smith Rowe has come off the bench on just two occasions in the top-flight this term. The England international appears to be behind the likes of Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieira in the pecking order.
It is a surprise to see him struggling so much given that he scored 10 league goals in the 21/22 season. And Alan Smith fears that the situation may result in the academy graduate deciding that the time has come to look elsewhere.
“There’s something about Emile that Arteta’s not sure about,” he told . “And yeah, you’re right, him and Saka came through the academy and they were coming up, heading for the stars. And then, Bukayo’s gone like that, and Emile’s gone backwards, hasn’t he?
“He must be thinking, probably I need to move if this continues because he’s too good. But if you’re Arteta, you want to keep that depth of quality in your squad, so he’ll like to keep him I’d imagine. He got a run-out in the Carabao at Brentford. But he’s hardly getting a sniff.
“There’ll be so many clubs that would have him. I don’t think he’s trouble or anything like that. He’s a good lad. So yeah, it’s just a bit of shame for him how it’s gone.”
January window still some time away
There is definitely going to be plenty of interest in Smith Rowe. He is still so young. And he has proven exactly what he can do in the Premier League.
Reports from in the summer claimed that Newcastle United, Chelsea and Aston Villa were all interested in Smith Rowe. And you can imagine that so many more sides would have been keen if they got a sense that he was available.
The January window however, is still a little while away. And with that, it is too soon to say anything about Smith Rowe’s future with any certainty.
Ultimately, Kai Havertz has not hit the ground running. And Fabio Vieira has not exactly captured the imagination since his move either.
So should Smith Rowe get more opportunities and manage to produce an inspired performance or two, things could change rapidly.
He certainly has the talent to win Arteta over.