Arsenal ‘have no intention of letting Emile Smith Rowe leave this summer’ – although the injury-plagued midfielder has failed to start a SINGLE game in his difficult title campaign
- Emile Smith Rowe barely featured in Arsenal’s impressive campaign due to injury
- The 22-year-old star had surgery in September and returned in January
- He couldn’t work his way into the first team before the end of the season
Arsenal reportedly have no intention of letting Emile Smith Rowe leave the club this summer despite the attacking midfielder barely being present last campaign.
The Gunners enjoyed their best season in years but Smith Rowe was hardly a factor, starting no games and playing just 195 minutes in all competitions as he was hampered by a groin injury.
The 22-year-old was only used on the bench before a damaged tendon in his groin forced him to undergo surgery six games into the season.
Smith Rowe made his comeback in January but a hard-hitting comeback never materialized, with the Englishman only managing to make appearances as a substitute in the months that followed.
This led many to believe he may not have been part of Mikel Arteta’s plans anymore, but Athleticism pretend that is not the case.
Arsenal have no intention of letting Emile Smith Rowe leave the club during the summer window
They report that Arteta still sees him as an important member of the squad and he’s not among the many players the club are looking to offload this summer.
Smith Rowe’s contract expires in 2026 and Arsenal are hoping he will be a key player for England at the European Under-21 Championship this summer.
As is always the case, Arsenal are under pressure to spend big in the window, but Arteta has also been keen to get the most out of some players the club already have on the books.
“First, be critical with ourselves, first with myself,” he said last week.
He returned from injury in January but did not start a single game until the end of the season
“My job is to get the best out of the 24 players we have and I haven’t been able to do that.
“There are still players who have great potential and we couldn’t do that.
“There are different reasons, whether it’s injuries, whether it’s playing time, that I didn’t have the chance or that we couldn’t play them enough.
“We have to look for those margins because we have those margins and our job is to improve them.”
