Aston Villa refuse to give up on Smith-Rowe while Arsenal contract still unsigned

I know that very few Arsenal fans think that Emile Smith-Rowe would refuse a new contract with the Gunners, having been brought up the Arsenal Way and playing alongside his friends like Bukayo Saka.

But the fact remains that talks are still ongoing with Arsenal over the terms of a new contract for the youngster, and the Telegraph is suggesting that Smith-Rowe is asking Arteta to give him assurances over how many games he will play, but the boss is unwilling to do that for any player.

So it appears that Villa believe Smith Rowe is still available, because if he was content at the Emirates then he would have already signed a new deal with the Gunners.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 09: Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal celebrates after scoring their sides first goal during the FA Cup Third Round. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

I doubt very much that Villa believed their opening bid of just 25million would have been accepted, but just the fact they are coming back surely means that they still think they could be successful at the right price.

The other factor that we need to consider is that Arteta is making big changes this summer, and will obviously need more funds than he will garner from selling off our fringe players and deadwood, so maybe he must be considering a couple of big money sales to help contribute to the transfer kitty.

So maybe it is up to Smith-Rowe now? Perhaps he needs to make up his mind and accept Arsenal’s new contract offer, or decide that he wants to seek a new challenge.

Just how long can Arteta wait for him to sign on the dotted line before deciding to act?

Tags Aston Villa Smith-Rowe

19 Comments

  1. Will he be another Donyell Malen, Serge Gnabry, Emi Matinez? All players we let go too soon and tearing it up at their current club. If Arsenal lets Smith Rowe go to Villa I’d expect Grealish in return, otherwise it makes no sense. #Sack the board #Kroenke out

    1. Grealish+ 50million+ 50percent sale on clause. Then, arsenal might consider giving in to their request.

  2. Absolute crazy again. Selling all the best young players and buying rubbish.

    Keep Nkeitah and Smith Rowe.

    It is beyond a joke now. Sell the old ones

    1. I don’t even care about nketiah but my concern is Smith rowe. Smith rowe/ Martinelli/ Saka the trio are Arsenal’s future.

  3. Sorry Arsenal fans but you just have to accept the once hunters are now the hunted, I’d expect if Smith-Rowe hasn’t signed yet and my club increase the offer it’s only a matter of time before he ends up at Villa. I suspect he’ll fit in well with Grealish, Buendia and co. Imagine a forward line of

    ———————Watkins————

    Grealish———Smith-Rowe———Buendia

  4. £120m on the table & we can begin discussion of the move.
    Nothing less, otherwise look away A.:Villa.

    1. Unfortunately it will be no where near that price because your owners will have told arteta he will need to sell to buy. He is desperate to rebuild so will sell as he did Martinez, who must be worth 70 million in the current market. With Smith-Rowe holding Arsenal to ransom I suspect 35-40 million will seal the deal. I do feel for the Arsenal fans, we’ve been in a similar position where the owner just wants to lineup his back pockets.

  5. The fact that Villa have now lodged multiple bids should make supporters nervous. Arsenal will always recruit expensive, flash in the pan wingers.. I’m sure ESR is worried his role will diminish if it continues.

    Martinelli, Saka, Pepe, Nketiah (F).. and trying to recruit Buendia.. what kind of message does that send to ESR?

    Villa would be able to almost guarantee ESR first team football with a fairly exciting philosophy and quality around him. The goal for Arsenal is always to complete for Champion’s League and win trophies, but falling short of those expectations for years and not really having a plan in place to actually achieve those goals is worrying.

    With the amount of stadium and structural debt over the last 3 years (250m), the wage bill and the newest loan via Barclay’s (120m).. Arsenal is going to have to generate revenue at some point. Villa are flush with cash and their newfound spending power saw them wrap up a fairly large fee for Buendia without any hiccups or hesitation.

    While the deal may not go through, I would NOT approach the situation with brazen confidence or arrogance. We should use this as a reality check.

  6. Aston Villa are just being ruthless in the transfer window – a lesson we still need to learn. It is clear they have already agreed a huge price for Grealish and are simply looking for a replacement. If they are prepared to drop 50M on the table then I would consider selling ESR. I know this would not be popular; just being ruthless, too.

    1. You are partly right, yes the owners combined value is 8 billion and they have desires for European football. They’ve made it clear Jack is not for sale and have backed that up with Grealish signing a 5 year contract last season – he can see how ambitious our owners are. The plan in progress to increase Villa Park to 60000 capacity and was only put on hold due to the pandemic. Expect big things from Villa in the next few years. They are also copying the M.City model of building training facilities next to Villa park. Finally, the youth team beat Liverpool u18 to win the FA youth cup after 18 years…bodes well for the future.

        1. I hope your watching SSN…even 100 million plus won’t budge our owners…expect Jack to sign a new contract then we turn our attentions to Smith-Rowe!

          I will say this, had this been Arsenal in Villa situation, Jack would already be on his way to Manchester.

  7. Arsenal currently have Willian, Pepe, Martinelli, Saka, Lacazette, Auba and Reiss Nelson fighting for three positions up front. They are looking o buy another front man. That would make 7 players currently looking to fill 3 spots.

    They are looking to bring in a number 10 to replace Odedaard.

    If I am ESR I would want to know where I fit into the team. What ESR does not need is lots of time on the bench, he needs game time.

    I would sign NO contract until my position in the team was made clear by Arteta.

    Aston Villa may know exactly where they want ESR to play.

    He could sign a new lucrative contract, but that could stifle his growth if Arteta goes off him, like he has with several other players.

    If you were ESR how would you react in these circumstances?

    1. You hit the nail on the head, if Arteta makes the promise to Smith-Rowe how’s he going to deal with the rest of the squad – it’s the reason you lost Martinez, who is absolute quality.

  8. Its Aston Villa for crying out loud, they aren’t getting ESR and they are not big enough to bully us into selling. It is a non story, nothing in it, Villa are trying to rattle the cage.

    1. Would you say M.City were or are bigger than Arsenal? They weren’t in the past but have in recent years taken your better players. It’s all about money, your owners just want to line their pockets whilst Villa owners want trophies and establish us as a top 4 club then, trophies.

  9. Let arsenal dont sell ESR i see him becoming the best come 2021/22 season.keep him.if not fans will do protest oh.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors