Fulham eyeing Smith Rowe as Palhinha replacement

Arsenal has reportedly rejected a bid from Fulham for midfielder Emile Smith Rowe. It is unknown what the fee amount was from Fulham, but this grows the idea that it’s a concrete possibility that Arsenal’s No. 10 could be on his way out. Crystal Palace holds interest in Smith Rowe as well, but there’s been no formal offer presented to Arsenal as of now. 

Fulham is reportedly deciding whether or not it intends to submit a second bid for Smith Rowe, but Arsenal currently evaluates him at around £40m.

It’s been a struggle for Smith Rowe these past two seasons, featuring only 31 games in all competitions, with only three assists. He’s certainly fallen down the priority list due to injuries that impacted his availability these last two seasons. Still, at 23, it’s becoming clear that starting minutes have to be a priority to continue his development. 

Arsenal’s camp has kept details very hush as they continue to navigate through their summer transfer plans, but the honest question is whether Smith Rowe is a part of those plans. Currently, his contract runs through the 2026 season and that’s typically the 2-year buffer that Arsenal technical director Edu Gaspar and manager Mikel Arteta will look to either extend a player's contract or sell him. 

It had been reported previously that Arteta was experimenting with making Smith Rowe more of a No. 8 midfielder, but with the lack of playing time, it’s hard to judge whether that experiment has fizzled out. Smith Rowe has admitted in the past that he wants to stay at Arsenal his entire career if he can, but it’s Arteta who knows what the plans for the midfielder are. 

Just last year Arteta stated “My job is to get the best out of 24 players that we have available and I haven’t been able to do that. There are still players who have great potential and we haven’t been able to do that,” (New York Times). Now heading into another Premier League season that feels crucial for the Gunners to improve the squad to compete with Manchester City, a decision must be made about fringe players such as Smith Rowe. 

Arsenal players have reported back to the Sobha Realty Training Centre including Smith Rowe, the only players currently exempted from reporting back to the Training Centre are those from the 2024 European Final (Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka). Their next time in action is when they head over to the U.S. for their USA Tour, beginning on July 27th against Manchester United at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.