Arsenal are willing to let young star Emile Smith Rowe leave in the final days of the summer transfer window amid interest from Chelsea, it has been reported, in what would be a shock move from the Gunners.
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.
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.
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.
Now, a shock twist has emerged as Chelsea could swoop for the youngster.
The Daily Mail claim that the England U21 star is one of three names being weighed up by the Blues, alongside Barcelona duo Raphinha and Ferran Torres.
A fan favourite alongside Bukayo Saka, selling Smith Rowe to London rivals Chelsea would not go down well with the Arsenal fanbase, especially should it be for less than the £65m that they have shelled out for Kai Havertz to join the club from the Blues earlier this summer.
