Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal kicked off their pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth (Image: Getty)
Arsenal are reportedly on the cusp of agreeing a deal that would see Emile Smith Rowe join Fulham for a fee which matches their record sale. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta admitted there were ‘things happening’ behind the scenes after his side’s pre-season clash with Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Smith Rowe didn’t see a single minute of action against the Cherries as Fabio Vieira and Antoine Semenyo traded goals in a 1-1 draw.
Arteta said: “There are things happening in the background at the moment and we decided the best thing to do was to keep (Smith Rowe) away from the game today.”
It’s now clear exactly what Arteta was talking about as Fulham have made a £35million bid which has moved them ahead of Crystal Palace in the race for the 23-year-old’s signature, according to The Athletic.
That transfer fee would match the one involved in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s move to Liverpool in 2017, which still stands as Arsenal’s record sale. It would also be an outright record signing for the Cottagers, eclipsing the sum they paid for Jean Michael Seri six years ago.
An official agreement, personal terms and a medical are still to be thrashed out for Smith Rowe but Fulham are now ‘in a position to secure his services’ after previously seeing a £30m bid rejected.
Emile Smith Rowe was once tipped for a bright future at Arsenal (Image: Getty)
Losing the homegrown talent, who was tipped for greatness when he broke into the first team, would be a crushing blow for Arsenal fans. The attacking midfielder scored 10 Premier League goals in 2021/22 but injuries have stifled his progress and he has not scored a club goal in any competition over the past two seasons.
The fight for minutes out wide with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus proved too competitive for Smith Rowe, while Martin Odegaard lays claim to the creative midfield role.
Smith Rowe’s sale, which can be accounted for as pure profit, should give the Gunners more manoeuvrability in this summer’s transfer market. The north Londoners have made David Raya’s loan move permanent and are set to bring in Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.
Arsenal are desperate to bounce back following the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City for the second year in a row. Their next pre-season outing will bring them up against Manchester United which UK-based fans can watch at 1am (BST) on Sunday morning.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1927724/arsenal-mikel-arteta-emile-smith-rowe-fulham