I’m shocked that different gossip columns say that Arsenal are willing to let Emile Smith-Rowe leave for Chelsea. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
There may be some truth to these speculations. Even so, I would expect many Gooners to be against the club letting the 23-year-old leave.
If you followed the Hale End Graduate over the summer, you would see how hungry he was to return to his best. He was on a personal training programme for a while after the end of the season. He went on to impress in the Euros U-21’s, instrumental in England winning it.
After that, he didn’t take the long-deserved summer vacation he had earned; he immediately opted to link up with Arsenal in their US pre-season. Many felt that he had found his mojo and would finally get back to his best. However, three games into the season, Arteta has yet to utilise him as many hoped he would, in fact he’s treated him like a fringe player.
Which begs the question: if Havertz, who’s struggling to play as a left-sided No. 8, can be afforded that much game time, why can’t Smith Rowe be tried out in that role? The No. 8 role Havertz is playing is there for the taking, and what stops Smith Rowe from taking it?
Admissions from Jamie Carragher and Smith Rowe are what every Gooner needs to listen to (or read) to understand that letting the utility man (who can play in the wings and midfield) leave is a transfer blunder.
Carragher admitted in 2021 that the Hale End graduate is a natural and noted he needs to add goals to his game to be at his best, as he said as per Football London, “I mentioned his lack of goals at this moment, and that’s the only thing he needs in his game.
“He’s been outstanding again, indeed, that first half. When he gets on his bike, you’re not catching him. He’s as quick with the ball as he is without it. He gets a little bit of fortune, no doubt, that deflection off [Tyrone] Mings. He’s fantastic when he runs with the ball; he’s never out of control, and he gets that little bit of luck we all need at times.
“Just wrong-foots the goalkeeper. His fourth Premier League goal, and if he adds that to his game, we have got a star. He’s as good as anyone in the league when he’s running with the ball.
“He can use both feet; he never looks like he’s out of control; and the pace at which he can actually run with the ball at his feet—we have so many special players in this country, especially in attacking areas. We have an abundance of talent, and Smith Rowe is one of them.”
On the other hand, Smith-Rowe admitted he’s been a Gooner through and through and even notes Chelsea rejected him, so why should he join them?
“I grew up in an area that should be more Crystal Palace than anything else, but I was an Arsenal fan,” Smith Rowe said in an interview with the Daily Mail in March 2021. “I trialled at Chelsea and didn’t get in. Something about me not being big enough, I’ve heard!”