Arsenal star ‘wants and needs to play’ more as speculation grows about Emirates exit
Fabrizio Romano insists Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe “wants and needs to play” more matches amid speculation over his future in north London.
Smith Rowe now has to contend with more competition from Kai Havertz and others since he underwent surgery on his groin at the start of last season, which kept him out for a long period of time.
The 23-year-old is facing a battle to get back into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI at Arsenal with Smith Rowe only starting one of his six appearances in all competitions this season.
Aston Villa, Brighton and Newcastle United have all been linked with a January move for the England international as there are suggestions he could be looking for more game time.
And transfer expert Romano claims in his column that “the next three months will be important to understand his future” as it remains to be seen if the Arsenal midfielder can regain his place in Arteta’s outfit.
“Arsenal fans keep asking me about Emile Smith Rowe’s situation, but we will have to wait and see,” Romano said.
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“At the moment he’s not pushing to leave so we can’t predict the future. Of course Smith Rowe wants and needs to play but he also understands it’s not easy for Mikel Arteta now as there are many key players in the squad.”
Romano added: “The next three months will be important to understand his future in 2024.”
Arsenal boss Arteta insists he still values Smith Rowe and what he can bring to his team and says that his team-mates all “love him”.
“Well, there’s been many reasons why he hasn’t started a match. Obviously, he was out for a long, long time. And then he had the sequence of matches that he played with the national team,” Arteta said.
“Obviously we speak with our players and we try to explain the reason why we make certain decisions, but he’s clear on what he needs to do – which is performing on the pitch and giving the best to win games for us.
“He us incredibly popular. We all love him. It’s no different what the people feel and what we feel about him. But one thing is to be there, the other one is to start, and then once you start, are you consistent to stay there, and you have to stay fit as well.”