The 23-year-old is yet to feature for Arsenal this season, and has seen Kai Havertz take the departed Granit Xhaka’s spot in the Gunners midfield. He was left on the bench for the 2-2 draw with Fulham, with Mikel Arteta preferring to use Fabio Vieira. The Portuguese made an excellent impression and that is only likely to push academy graduate Smith-Rowe further down the pecking order in north London.
Handed the no.10 shirt when he penned a new deal in north London in 2022, his career at the Emirates Stadium has stalled and he doesn’t appear to have a clear path to first team football under Mikel Arteta.
Despite this, reports at the beginning of the summer claimed that the Gunners were keen to keep hold of the Englishman, and that any bids would be turned down amid previous interest from Aston Villa.
However, he won’t be joining Chelsea in the final days of the transfer window barring a major turnaround.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are on the hunt for another attacking addition after injuries to both Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka has left them light in creative midfielders, and have sounded out Smith Rowe as one of several options to fill the gap.
As per the Daily Mail however, the Gunners have warned their London rivals that they will not consider accepting any proposal for the midfielder unless it is ‘way above market value’.
The two sides enjoy a strong transfer relationship, with Arsenal having signed both Jorginho and Kai Havertz from Stamford Bridge in back to back transfer windows.
Smith Rowe is also catching the eye of West Ham, and could yet leave before the transfer deadline.
