Mikel Arteta still keen on keeping fringe Arsenal man despite incoming £35m offer

Mikel Arteta’s stance on keeping Emile Smith Rowe this summer has been revealed as both Fulham and Crystal Palace chase the Gunners midfielder.

The north London club have already turned down offers from their Premier League rivals this summer but both clubs are expected to return with improved bids for the player.

Fulham’s latest bid of £30million was rejected by Arsenal, while Palace are expected to submit a proposal worth £35m plus add-ons for the talented 23-year-old.

Arteta and technical director Edu face a tough decision over Smith Rowe’s sale as the attacking midfielder has shown plenty of potential since his first-team breakthrough in 2018 but largely struggled to secure a regular role last season.

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But despite his lack of minutes for Arsenal – he started just three Premier League games last season  – The Guardian reports that Arteta does not want to see Smith Rowe move on this summer.

Smith Rowe was restricted to just 14 appearances in the 2022/23 campaign due to a groin issue, while last season, he totalled 19 games in all competitions. Indeed, over the last two seasons, he has played a combined total of 508 minutes in the top flight.

Smith Rowe stagnation fears real

From Smith Rowe’s perspective, he feels he needs to be starting regularly at this stage his career, with Gunners legend Tony Aadams in agreement over the player’s career potentially stagnating.

Adams told Sky Sports recently: “When you have the games won, it’s 2-0 after 70 minutes, get him [Bukayo Saka] off. Get Smith Rowe on to develop him.

“I think they have gone a bit stagnant.

“Both [Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah], if I was them, I would be looking to move. Arteta needs to work with them and give them more time. But that depends if we get another centre forward.”

A sale would benefit Arsenal though in terms of Profit and Sustainability margins, especially given that sale of academy players is registered as pure profit in the club’s accounts.

It’s now just a matter of seeing what Fulham and Palace come back with in terms of offers and whether Edu can convince Arteta that a sale would be beneficial in terms of other targets Arsenal want to sign.

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In that regard, a new striker remains one of the top priorities for the Gunners, who have been tipped to move for Aston Villa and England frontman Ollie Watkins.

Ivan Toney also remains a less likely option, although Brentford boss Thomas Frank still insists it will take an ‘expensive’ bid to convince the Bees into a sale.