Arsenal star given hope of Emirates stay amid desperation to fight as insider issues update

Transfer insider Ben Jacobs has suggested he does not think “anything is predetermined” regarding the sale of Emile Smith Rowe, with the Arsenal man eager to “stay and fight for his place.”

In another life, Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka have already led the Gunners to a Premier League trophy with fantastic displays arm in arm. That it’s not quite panned out that way may be because of the unfortunate route one member of the Arsenal academy duo has gone down.

After useful contributions in the 2020/21 campaign, both stars fully broke out the next season. Smith Rowe scored 10 Premier League goals and had two assists in 33 games, while Saka’s tallies were 11 goals and seven assists, not missing a match.

But since then, the latter has reached 50 goals and 50 assists for his boyhood club, while the former has fallen out of favour, with injuries hampering his progress.

Last season, Smith Rowe managed just 161 minutes of Premier League football, and he’s only slightly north of that so far this term.

Gabriel Martinelli is the obvious choice on the left wing, with Leandro Trossard a very useful understudy, and the attacking-midfield ranks are full with Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Fabio Vieria.

Smith Rowe has fallen to the wayside, and TEAMtalk recently revealed Arsenal are open to selling him this summer as a result.

It’s believed he is unhappy with his minutes under Mikel Arteta, and there are sides that are willing to give him more opportunities.

DON’T MISS: 5 realistic transfers Arsenal can make to topple Man City, Liverpool and become kings of England

Smith Rowe wants to fight

Newcastle are one of those, and West Ham have also been keen in the past and could reignite their pursuit.

But while he’s unhappy with the amount he’s playing at Arsenal, Smith Rowe does not want to leave the club.

That’s according to transfer insider Jacobs, who states the attacking-midfielder is keen to fight for a place at the Emirates.

“But every time there’s been interest in Smith Rowe, even when he’s been out and not playing, it’s always been clear from the player camp that he wants to stay and fight for his place,” he told GIVEMESPORT.

Nothing is decided at Arsenal

And while Arsenal would be willing to sell, as it’s believed they could make about £45million from Smith Rowe, Jacobs states nothing is yet set in stone regarding moving him on.

“I don’t think the writing’s on the wall because not much has changed since a lot of links in January and even last summer. We know that Aston Villa looked and some say that West Ham are monitoring the situation as well,” he said.

“Therefore, I don’t think anything is predetermined at this point in terms of a summer exit.”

While the fact he’s not been cut loose yet will be ideal for Smith Rowe, his lack of minutes gives him little chance to do the fighting he wants to do.

He surely believes he can show he’s worth keeping – he certainly is if he can replicate the 2021/22 season – but since the end of December, he’s featured for just 112 minutes in the Premier League despite being available for all but one game.

What’s more, the Gunners have won every single league game since December ended, so it’s not as if he can make the case that they need him more than the other players that are getting games instead of him.

He’ll hope his time will come when he can show he should be part of Arteta’s plans, but it’s conceivable that he never really gets the chance amid Arsenal’s good form.

READ MORE: The 10 most valuable players at Arsenal: England internationals take top two, Saliba in sixth place