Arsenal face Aston Villa on Friday and while this is a meeting between two of the Premier League’s most famous and historic clubs, there’s an added bit of spice to this fixture on this occasion.
Indeed, over the summer, Villa proved to be something of a thorn in Arsenal’s side. They beat them to the signing of Emi Buendia from Norwich before trying to sign one of the Gunners’ most promising youngsters.
The Midlands club made not one, but two bids for Emile Smith Rowe this summer and according to The Telegraph, Arsenal were shocked by the offers Villa made for the youngster.
The Gunners never even considered selling Smith Rowe, but apparently, they were stunned to see that Villa were bidding for him.
In all honesty, the Gunners shouldn’t have been so shocked. Smith Rowe had just had a brilliant breakout Premier League season and he was bound to attract some interest.
We can’t say we’re shocked that Arsenal refused to sell Smith Rowe. The midfielder is just 21 years old and he has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, and in the current market, £30m would have been a snip for the youngster, especially when you consider that Villa were about to sell Jack Grealish for £100m.
The fact that Villa tried to get Smith Rowe out of Arsenal this summer was certainly a sign of ambition, but as shown by Arsenal’s refusal to sell and their shock at the offers, it looks as though Villa need to be a little more realistic with their targets.
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