Arsenal recently rejected a £25 million bid from Aston Villa for Emile Smith Rowe. The young player scored 7 goals and collected 7 assists last season after breaking into the first team.
We got to see glimpses of his brilliant quality in Arsenal’s last Premier League runout and because of this, the Gunners have been trying to secure a contract extension with ESR since April but an agreement hasn’t been reached yet.
"Arsenal have rejected a bid from Aston Villa for forward Emile Smith Rowe.The Gunners are not entertaining offers for the player and remain hopeful he will sign a new contract. Smith Rowe’s current deal runs until the summer of 2023. (Via: Sky Sports)"
Some suggest that this offer is way too low for Smith Rowe but I think that if Arsenal rejected a €25 million bid for a player who played just 20 games in the Premier League last season it’s because that player is in Arteta’s plans for the future.
It is known that these past seasons haven’t been great for the North London side as they have fallen down in the table standings. They need to start working their way back into the top four/six every year.
Arsenal must hold onto Emile Smith Rowe
Nowadays most of the players are very expensive in the transfer market and Arsenal are producing good gems in their academy such as Buyako Saka, Eddie Nketiah, and Emile Smith Rowe – which surely would benefit the club in the near and far future.
These academy players are already starting to change the club’s playing style. When Saka and Smith Rowe are on the field, the Gunners play way better and accumulate better results.
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Also, one of the reasons for ESR not signing his new contract yet might be the likes of Martin Ødegaard coming back to Emirates Stadium this season.
The midfielder is not in Real Madrid plans due to their exaggerated quality in the midfield and they would be happy to make some cash from his sale, as they would like to fund a Kylian Mbappé transfer.
If Ødegaard comes back to Arsenal, Smith Rowe would probably not be so happy since he would have tough competition in his position, which will also see his playing time on the pitch limited.
There is no denying that Emile Smith Rowe is in Arsenal’s future plans since he’s one of their best gems out of the academy, but if the Gunners are trying to keep him happy they need to assure him regular minutes on the field since he’s showing a good level of football – and he does deserve more time on the pitch.
Now, we will have to wait and see if the Gunners can reach their objective of ESR signing a contract extension before the beginning of the Premier League campaign in August.
His actual contract is until June 2023 but the Gunners want to be certain of having him secured for many more years to come.