Arteta ready to brutally axe Arsenal star who’s ‘desperate to stay;’ Aston Villa, West Ham poised to strike
Mikel Arteta is willing to sell Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe this summer
Arsenal are reportedly ‘ready’ to sell fan favourite Emile Smith Rowe in the summer amid interest from Aston Villa and West Ham United.
The 23-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates and has made just two starts in the Premier League this term, which has stunted his progress.
This is despite the fact that Smith Rowe has gone through periods of good form for Arsenal. He scored 10 goals in 33 league appearances in the 2021/22 season, for example.
A move away from Arsenal would probably, therefore, be the best thing for Smith Rowe’s development and plenty of English sides are interested in him.
As previously noted by TEAMtalk, Aston Villa and West Ham are both keen on signing the attacking midfielder.
Reports suggest that the Hammers tried to sign Smith Rowe as part of the deal that saw Declan Rice join the Gunners last summer, but Mikel Arteta was unwilling to lose him at the time.
David Moyes’ side also made an offer to sign him on loan in January, which was rejected.
It now seems that Arteta has softened his stance on Smith Rowe, however, and he will sanction his exit at the end of this season.
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Aston Villa, West Ham at front of the queue for Smith Rowe
According to GiveMeSport, Arsenal are ‘willing’ to sell Smith Rowe in the upcoming transfer window if they receive a ‘suitable offer for him.’
This is despite the fact that he is ‘desperate to stay’ and fight for his place at the Emirates.
However, after Smith Rowe has been limited to just 357 minutes of action across all competitions this season, Arsenal are ‘beginning to consider cashing in.’
The Gunners are ‘confident’ that they could command ‘decent money’ for the England international given the level of interest in his signature.
Aston Villa and West Ham are thought to be at the front of the queue for him as Unai Emery and Moyes aim to bolster their respective squads.
Arsenal are not ‘actively looking’ to offload Smith Rowe but the feeling is that he will leave if a sizeable offer is tabled.
The report does not name Arsenal’s demands, but they have previously valued Smith Rowe at approximately £60m.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how high Aston Villa and West Ham are willing to go if they do launch bids for Smith Rowe in the coming months.