The other day, Give Me Sport reported that Arsenal were looking to cash in on Emile Smith-Rowe. In a follow-up to their report, the French journalist Seb Ecrivain has disclosed that Arsenal’s No. 10 may move to West Ham.
Ecrivain believes the Hammers are still interested in the Hale End graduate. They have maintained their interest since Teamtalk reported on it in October. Teamtalk reported that David Moyes wanted the Arsenal player to join his squad, but the deal did not go through in January because Arsenal wanted roughly £60 million to agree to the deal.
However, the Gunners may have dropped their expectations, as the French journalist claims they are now looking for a realistic price to allow Smith Rowe to seal a move away.
A move to a team like West Ham might help the 23-year-old rebuild his career, which is why he is reportedly tempted by the move.
⭐️ EXCLU ⭐️ West Ham s’intéresse de prêt à la situation de Emile Smith Rowe. Le joueur de 23 ans , ne sera pas retenu par Arsenal en cas de bonne offre cet été. Il est tenté par le temps de jeu que pourrait lui donner les Hammers. #Mercato #Arsenal #WestHam pic.twitter.com/fgchML4AA0
— Sébastien Vidal (@SebEcrivainFoot) March 8, 2024
Seb Ecrivain (as translated) said, “West Ham is interested in the situation of Emile Smith Rowe. The 23-year-old will not be retained by Arsenal in the event of a good offer this summer. He is tempted by the playing time that the Hammers could give him.”
Smith Rowe’s Arsenal career has been hampered by injuries, but he has been more of a ‘bench warmer’ in the previous two seasons, and he can’t keep doing so given the potential he has demonstrated. His exit is well justified.
Darren N
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In a word,no.Why he was not played against Sheffield and Brentford is beyond me.In the absence of Martinelli he ought to start on the LW against Porto , but for some reason our Manager does not seem to appreciate the calibre of the young man ,and the different dynamic he can bring to our front three.His continued absence is my biggest frustration in what has been a very good season so far.
Arteta who works 24 hrs with his players must have better understanding about his players than us. There might be some reason not thrusting him directly into starting 11. It looks easy outside that ESR could have started in LW but if somehow had we lost any points in this fixture then we fans would have shouted to call of his head for experimenting. It would also be unfair to other players like Trossard who also have worked so hard and had been a part of winning team. So I would leave this decision to Arteta and hope our team keep on winning whoever plays there which is most important.
Well said VZ👌 Arteta once said in his interview that they are managing ESR fitness. I like ESR very well. But given few minutes he needs to maximize his time and be exceptional. Trossard started with few minutes and performed creditably. My second thought is if the coach has other reasons why he isn’t playing him, then he should be sold to accommodate other quality midfielders in the market. Arteta knows better.
I noticed that interview as well. A month or two back iirc?
Why does nobody else take that into account when they talk about ESR?
Having to manage his injury is the reason he doesnt play much. Its also a reason to think about moving him on.
@Grandad, Agree every word with you. Such a talented player and he is wasted on the bench.
People said ESR was amazing in Dubai.
Then he played almost 100 minutes in January and was very disappointing, seems to barely cared, no defense duty.
It’s over.
Yes, if MA has deemed him surplus to requirements which seems to be the case then it’s best for all parties.
Now what would be stupid is to not sell because our valuation is too high then barely play him while having a lack of funds and a bloated squad
Agreed. If he is not in the plans he is not useful to us as we are to him.
If Arteta doesn’t plan to use him, and a good full-profit fee can be obtained, he should be sold.
We need bench players that the manager would use frequently as starters, as Pep does in City.
I haven’t seen ANY reports from the manager that he’s not in his plans, quite the opposite in fact.
ESR has stated that he wants to remain at the club for as long as they want him and that’s a FACT!!
So, just because some reporter says the complete opposite to both of the above, we’re supposed to believe him and not the player and the club?!?!
Just like Ramsdale, ESR could and should have been given playing time when we were hammering teams by five or six goals, that would at least give our bench players time to adjust from training games to PL games.
Spot on Ken.
Ken I much want ESR to stay and hope he will. BUT, have you asked yourself WHY, as I have , that ESR , having been fit now for some time, still gets precious little chance under MA to prove himself?
Regrettably, I am leaning towards believing MA will be happy to seriously examine ANY half decent bid for him this summer.
I am far from sure of this but I THINK so.
Sigh!
But KEN why do you EXPECT to read such reports, in any case?
I notice that MA very rarely gives ANY real clue to imports or exports from our club.
He is a good poker player and though he is amiable and friendly when interviewd , he almost NEVER gives away info he prefers to keep within the club between only he and EDU!
I have no FIRM evidence ,either way, whether he wishes ESR to stay or leave But looking how very rarely he is used leans my inclination towards thinking MA will be content to let ESR leave , albeit for a decent offer.
I hope he stays but that is only hope and hope, alone, is worthless!
👍👍ken and Grandad
Whenever and where ever he likes. ESR is not Arsenal quality. £20M.
Are you suggesting that the likes of Vieira, who was of course signed by our Manager, is superior to ESR, who was not?
Foolish by name foolish by nature.
Lokonga, Vieira, Zinchenko are all players signed by MA and, as Grandad says, are not in any way, superior to ESR.
Jon makes the point that he has been “for some time” yet gets a one minute substitution work out and one decent run out thereafter!!!
If, heaven forbid, Odegaard gets injured, wouldn’t ESR be the natural replacement, as he would be if Odegaard needed replacing during a game from fatigue?
Just another load of baloney…. if what MA and ESR say is to be believed.
KEN “if what MA and ESR say is to be believed”!
I tell you and others constantly not to take all issued statements as gospel truth and yet you still seem to think publicly issued statements are TRUE.
They may be, equally they may NOT be.
I never trust statements unless I have first thought through the matter involved and made up my own mind IF, or not, I believe them.
I am older and worldly wise. I would hope YOU are too, but sometimes you appear to be gullible, IMO!
Jon, I thank you for advising me as to what I should and shouldn’t believe.
I also read and digest what is written before I react to it, so you have no need to stress yourself out regarding my gullability, but once again I thank you for your concern.
As I am a few years older than you, you have no need to “hope” about anything.
I’m not sure what you mean by “worldly wise” – do you mean travel wise, interlectually wise, football wise, monetary wise, politically wise, family wise or even managerial wise?
Perhaps you could delve deeper into your meaning in order that I might be able to answer you?
Meanwhile, once I have read and digested statements like those put forward by ESR and MA, one of the very first questions I ask myself is WHY the statement was made in the first place.
For ESR, it was plain to me, that he wanted everyone to know that he had been fit for a while and wanted to play.
He also wanted to let Arsenal supporters know where he saw his future and that’s why I believe what he says… hope your keeping up with my logic?
Then, when MA issued his comments, following ESR’s, I asked the same question WHY?
Now, until I know what your explanation of “worldly wise” is, I can only, once again, give you my reasons as to why MA would take the time to explain his thoughts.
1. He was protecting ESR from coming back to early from injury.. but the player himself declared he was fit.
2. He wanted to see if his signings, such as Vieira and Havertz, would prove to be the players that he spent, reportedly, nearly £100,000,000 on, would come good.
3. He really didn’t fancy ESR, but needed to reply to ESR’s comments.
After digesting these three thoughts, I decided that, in my opinion, he was hedging his bets, but leaning towards the positive side, hence my thoughts above.
Of course, your opinion would have been as thoughtful and thorough as an old, worldly wise man, am I correct in my thinking?
So there we have it Jon… five questions that, once again, I hope you will answer – meanwhile, can I suggest that, at your advanced age, you stop worrying about others and just give your own, succinctly thought out (I hope) opinion for others to read and digest?
Oops, that makes six questions.
👍Grandad. Vieira has proven too lightweight to succeed as a midfielder in the EPL. His technical abilities are insufficient to compensate for his lack of physicality.
This is not an issue with ESR post his operation. I know who I would like Arsenal to retain of the two.
@Jack, you are not serious are you? ESR has loads of talent and it is so sad he is on the bench. He can literally play across the front 3 and also as a CAM. He is fit now and still Arteta refuses to give him playing time. He is an Academy product and this is not a good way of portraying Academy products. Atleast Arteta must give him decent playing time and we can assess him after that.
We have seen so many cases in the past that when things doesn’t work out it wont work out. Its good to have faith but at some point we need to accept and understand that moving on might be best for both parties. Prime examples are Wishere and Diaby who were given contract after contract for very very long time in a hope that they may turn their careers. It was hard to accept the fact they couldn’t be same player they used to be or supposed to be. Eudardo, Walcott, Chamberlain, Ramsay etc also never recovered fully from their persistent injuries. So it might be just the right time to part ways and generate some transfer money rather than letting him leave for free in 2 yrs which looks inevitable to me at this point. On the other hand ESR being 24 yrs cant be happy with bench role and need plenty of game time. So decision should be made which suits both parties.
Of course Arsenal should let him go to West Ham. It would be wrong to deny him the opportunity to move to the next level.
NO!
Am I the only one who remembers this guy has 10 EPL goals two seasons ago! (On 2021/22).
Please tell me?
You’re not the only one, which makes it all the more strange when MA won’t use him as a LW as that is where he was playing when he hit double figures.
Aston Villa or Brighton is a better fit, a one year loan deal could just be what the doctor ordered for the kid.
Surely a change of scenery could do the young Englishman a world of good
I feel sorry for Smith Rowe – for all sorts of reasons
He’s a young man that broke on to the Arsenal stage, full of promise, only to be frequently thwarted by injuries.
I’m only looking from the outside inwards, but it must be pretty difficult for Arteta and his team of coaches/physios etc to know how long ESR will stay fit. He sits on the sidelines, has a bit part role here and there, and then gets an issue in training and finds himself unavailable again. Not all of his injuries are long term but there is always a nagging doubt.
I’m not suggesting that the club and ESR should part company but isn’t there some value in an honest appraisal of his long term future when other players have a more robust physique?
like many Arsenal fans i like ESR
and I like academy products getting a chance and coming through
I am not sure left winger is his best position, and he is third choice there currently (even when fit), better suited to attacking midfield, but again he is down the order right now
fitness issues can’t be ignored, like Partey a player that never plays can become a distraction and drain on the wages for no output
Arsenal does need to sell this summer and there are plenty of names on that list but few command much money, ESR is probably in the top few, we need the money to strengthen elsewhere
finally we have plenty of quality talent from our academy coming through who could replace, e.g. Nwaneri and Patino straight swap
if ESR stays then they could have to go, a tough choice but one that if I had to make today would take £40m (he is never £60m, an if he is then Havertz is a steal at £65m), reinvest in the squad and let Patino and Nwaneri compete for his place
not what fans want to hear, sometimes tough decisions need to be taken
ESR,has to leave and will hopefully one day stick his middle finger up to Arteta to say up yours. Football goes in cycles and Smith Rowe has more ability in his little finger than a tractor like Harvetz. If I were ESR, I would try my luck in Italy first up. The pace is slower, managers there would know how to get the best out of him, after all this is the country that produced the likes of Baggio, Vialli, Zola Totti, Del Piero, and Pirlo. After a decent 20 minutes in his previous start why was he prefered to a nothing player such as Viera, who hadn’t played for months and has no future in the EPL. Call it out for what it is, BIAS.
Hi Joe.S
I read your post with interest
You hope that ESR sticks his middle finger up to Arteta but then suggest he tries out a slower league
Is it a case then, that the rigours of premier league football are too much for ESR’s body to withstand and Arteta knows this already? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Cheers!
No, Sue, I meant that it could be the perfect environment for him to get regular game time on a starting eleven, play in a league where he skills could be further developed and learn football smarts from some cagey managers. What would he learn playing under the likes of Moyes for example or under our Spaniard where currently the kid is simply not getting a fair go. Also I think he would be great at Liverpool with Klopp although I don’t know who is going to be in charge there next season. It’s all hypothetical though.
Joe S
You are correct ESR is levels above Vieira one merely has to watch them play to see that. Shocking that Vieira got opportunities, but still trying to justify 34 million for that timid, frail, luxury buy.
Vieira plays like a lamb, and will not make it with the rigors of the PL.
Sit down, Joe. ESR and Havertz are completely different players and I would remind you that Kai is our second highest scorer this season behind Saka. However, giving Vieira and Nelson game time ahead of ESR is unforgivable; they are both rank average and have no place being in an Arsenal shirt.
Game time Ben, it’s all about game time. How many opportunities has Harvetz been given, scoring chances missed, or been too ponderous to get himself into better scoring positions. Let’s not forget that the German’s first goal for Arsenal was a penalty gifted to him by his team mates in order to give him a boost.
I think we all admire Smith Rowe but if he is crocked – as in injured- or nursing a slight injury then he is impossible to rely on. Other players fill in, do quite well and then Emile gets pushed further back. It’s not necessarily fair, but it often happens
Yes, hopefully he can fullfill his promise elsewhere. Injuries aside he reminds me a bit of Martin Peters, who went on to prove his doubters wrong in 1966.
SueP, how many injuries has ESR suffered since recovering from his groin operation to rectify his underlying issues? As far as I recall he has been available every week.
As far as Joe.S’ recommendation that ESR move to Italy, where the style and pace of play may hone his skills, an assessment of the comparative strengths of this league will be evident in progress of Italian teams in the European competitions.
Martinelli and Trossard haven’t lacked for game time!? I don’t see why you’re so down on Havertz, he is doing very well and getting better! He will probably never reach the lofty heights of RvP or Bergkamp but he could, and that is the important factor here. It’s up to him really.
He’s speed and awareness to track back is not sharp yet so the gaffer need he to b that smart again ..he has it in his strides so we not selling him so many tournaments next season and who say he can’t play a role in this present season…
No, ESR is very much our own and shouldnt go anywhere. Arteta must give him more game time and given his talent, he has a great future at Arsenal.
The gaffer does not trust Smith Rowe as a result he will develop ring rust, Arsenal should make one last role of the dice and loan him for a season.
Selling the kid now could result with eggs on the gaffer face, which we dont want.
if we aren’t going to use him then cash in. I like the guy but he doesn’t seem to fit and his past injury record makes a comeback harder and harder.