Arsenal are reluctantly prepared to sell a player who manager Mikel Arteta ideally wants to keep, with the Gunners boss also having lavished him with praise.
Players who could still leave Arsenal this summer
This week, striker Eddie Nketiah and defender Jakub Kiwior have been the two players most heavily linked with the Arsenal exit door.
£24 million forward targeted by Ten Hag now set for talks to join Arsenal
His agent will sit down with Gunners officials.
ByEmilio GalantiniJul 23, 2024
Nketiah has reportedly agreed terms with Marseille as the Ligue 1 giants and Arsenal negotiate over price, while Fabrizio Romano has backed that Kiwior could depart Arsenal now that defender Riccardo Calafiori has been signed.
The duo form just a couple of the many players who Arsenal could listen to offers for, and they're part of a long list including Thomas Partey, Aaron Ramsdale, Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe.
Arsenal chiefs expect Partey to be sold in the coming weeks, and the same could be said for goalkeeper Ramsdale after the Englishman lost his number one spot to David Raya last season.
Appearances
115
Goals
5
Assists
4
Bookings
24
Red cards
1
Minutes played
7,794
Smith Rowe, meanwhile, suffered from precious few opportunities to impress at the Emirates over 23/24 – making just 13 Premier League appearances with 10 of them coming off the substitute's bench.
Arsenal will reluctantly sell Smith Rowe who Arteta ideally wants to keep
Speaking to CaughtOffside, reliable reporter Charles Watts has shared an intriguing update on the Englishman's future. He says that Arsenal will reluctantly sell Smith Rowe in the event of a good offer, despite Arteta actually ideally wanting to keep the 23-year-old.
“There has been a bid from Fulham for Smith Rowe, but that has been rejected. A second bid is expected, but Crystal Palace are also expected to make an offer soon having made their interest in the playmaker known,” Watts said.
“In an ideal world, Mikel Arteta would keep Smith Rowe. This time last year he made it clear that he would not be sold and I think his stance would be the same this time around if it was just down to a footballing decision. But Smith Rowe now has just two years left on his contract and has a strong desire to be playing regular football having sat on the bench for much of the last two seasons.
“So Arsenal would reluctantly let him leave should a good offer arrive from Fulham, Palace or anyone else. But at the moment that offer has not arrived and that is why Smith Rowe has flown with the squad to the United States. It’s certainly not a case that Arsenal will be forcing him out of the door.”
Smith Rowe's best season came during the 2021/2022 campaign, where he scored 10 goals and bagged a further two assists in an impressive breakout year.
However, a combination of fitness issues and more competition for places in the squad has limited his opportunities in the last two years. It will be interesting to see what Arsenal deem a reasonable fee for the £40,000-per-week ace, who Arteta described as a "joy to watch".
