When reports emerged on Thursday morning suggesting that Aston Villa could be about to revisit one of 2021’s longest-running transfer sagas, many followers of the Premier League high-flyers may have been wondering just what on earth was the whole point of it all.
Arsenal rejected two bids from Villa Park for Emile Smith Rowe back in 2021. The biggest, according to Goal, landed in the region of £30 million.
But things have changed over the last two years. Specifically, in the Aston Villa dugout. Unai Emery is the man in charge these days. And Villa renewing their interest in Arsenal’s number ten – as reported by talkSPORT – raises the prospect of a reunion between Smith Rowe and the man who handed him his senior debut at the Emirates Stadium.
“He is taking responsibility, and also I think today his performance across 90 minutes is very good,” Emery said of a teenage Smith Rowe after he opened the scoring during Arsenal’s 3-0 UEFA Europa League victory over Vorskla back in 2018, via ESPN.
“He is a good example for the other young players.”
The admiration between Emery and Smith Rowe, meanwhile, is very much mutual.
“He has been giving me a lot of help and advice,” the Hale End graduate told Sky Sports.
“(Emery) is very passionate and very detailed as well. It’s good that he’s so passionate. He wants to win and he wants to improve.”
Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe could reunite with Unai Emery at Aston Villa
The presence of Emery in the Aston Villa hotseat is not the only reason why those in the Midlands can feel somewhat optimistic about the prospect of Smith Rowe wearing claret and blue in 2023/24.
With seven wins and a draw in their last eight Premier League games, Villa are a club on the up; an elite-level manager capable of finally getting the best out of a highly-talented but previously-underachieving squad.
European football next term feels like a realistic possibility. Aston Villa are now a far more alluring destination for talents like Smith Rowe than they were under Steven Gerrard and Dean Smith.
Smith Rowe, meanwhile, is threatening to become the forgotten man of Arsenal’s Premier League title push under Mikel Arteta. He has not started a single game since returning from injury, and was an unused substitute even when the Gunners needed a goal against West Ham United last time out.
Smith Rowe out, Gabri Veiga in?
What’s more, the very possible addition of Gabri Veiga from Celta Vigo threatens to put another obstacle in Smith Rowe’s way. Veiga, a similarly skilful attacking midfielder who loves to break into the penalty area and finish off chances, reportedly wants to join Arsenal over an array of other suitors.
Veiga has an affordable £33 million release clause in his Celta Vigo contract.
Should Veiga arrive, that would potentially see Smith Rowe fall to fourth in Arteta’s pecking order. Behind the Spain U21 star, Odegaard and Fabio Vieira too.
“He’s pushing,” Arteta said of Smith Rowe at his Thursday press conference. “But, in football, what you have done a year ago or month ago is not…
“It’s about what you do now. What you did yesterday. And what you’re going to do tomorrow. The player has to have that mindset, and the contribution has to be now to the team. To make us better and make us win games.”
Clearly, Arteta is warning Smith Rowe against living off past glories. His reputation alone will not earn him his place back in Arsenal’s XI. And, with just seven high-pressure games remaining this season, it is difficult to see where the next start comes from as far as Smith Rowe is concerned.
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