David Ornstein has shared that Emile Smith Rowe won’t be leaving Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal this summer after past transfer links with Aston Villa.
The 22-year-old has had a season to forget because, despite Arsenal sitting at the top of the Premier League table for most of the campaign, he has only played 161 minutes for his boyhood club.
For many, that suggested that Emile Smith Rowe, who was wanted by Aston Villa last summer, would be headed for the exit door, but transfer expert Orenstein has reported that he remains an ‘important’ member of Mikel Arteta’s plans going forward, as he wrote in The Athletic.
For the first half of the campaign, it was turning out to be another injury-hit season for the ball-carrying expert.
But he has been warming the bench and, at times, not even being used as a substitute during these past few months as Arsenal lost grip and handed the title to Manchester City.
Despite that, Arteta isn’t letting go of the player anytime soon which will please the Gooners, despite previous suggestions that the ‘incredible’ Hale-End academy product could be used in a deal to bring the now-relegated Leicester City star, James Maddison, to north London.
SMITH ROWE DESERVES ARSENAL CHANCE
Captain Martin Odegaard has shown other Arsenal midfielders the levels after producing his best-ever season as a professional footballer.
The Norway international struck 15 goals from the middle of the park and supplied eight assists, including two stunning long-range efforts at Tottenham and Newcastle United.
Last season, Smith Rowe hit ten Premier League goals, so he has shown that he has got that goalscoring quality in his locker, as he deserves the chance to push his captain for a first-team spot going forward.
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