Arsenal Football Club has reportedly set a price tag of £25 million for their midfielder, Emile Smith Rowe. Despite the club's willingness to sell, the 23-year-old player is said to be in no hurry to leave the Emirates Stadium.
Smith Rowe is not just an ordinary player for Gunners; he is a boyhood fan who joined the club's academy at a tender age of 10. He climbed through their ranks and made his first-team debut in 2018. His breakthrough campaign came under Mikel Arteta during the 2020-21 season.
However, his journey has not been without challenges. Injury problems have plagued him over the past two seasons, limiting his game time significantly.
Crystal Palace show interest
According to a report from The Sun, Arsenal are ready to part ways with Smith Rowe this summer and have priced him at £25m. Crystal Palace has shown interest in signing the young midfielder as Michael Olise is set to join Bayern Munich.
Despite these speculations, it appears that Smith Rowe would prefer staying put at Arsenal and fight for his place on the team roster. Last season saw him make only three starts in Premier League matches with his last appearance being in April when Arsenal triumphed over Luton with a scoreline of 2-0.
Arteta admires Smith Rowe
Following that Luton match, Mikel Arteta expressed admiration for Smith Rowe and encouraged him to use recent struggles as motivation moving forward. "I love him as a player; he is a joy to watch," said Arteta about this promising talent who seems determined not just on proving himself but also on remaining loyal towards his childhood club despite transfer rumours swirling around.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager, said:
"How he moves, changes direction and how physical he was today without the ball. He went into duels and won a lot of them and was thinking with that killer instinct to play forward and make things happen.
"When Emile is in that moment, it's very difficult to stop him. Today he helped us a lot to win the game. I just look at him and what happened in the last seasons especially, but what happened three seasons [ago] as well. Take all that. It is the best thing that could have happened for him in his career - if he uses it the right way now. So, don't look back and say: 'Ah, if, if'. No, this happened, use it. 'That was the best thing that could have happened.
"'I had great moments, I had difficult moments, now I know what I want, how to deal with that. That is going to make me a much better player'. And, you could see, the hell of a player that we have in him when he is fit and he is playing at that level."
While Arsenal may be willing to sell Smith Rowe, the player's determination to stay and fight for his place could change the dynamics of this potential transfer. It remains to be seen how this situation unfolds in the coming weeks. For sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, these developments certainly add an exciting layer of unpredictability to the upcoming football season.
