Former Premier League striker and Arsenal fan Darren Bent admits he ‘would be gutted’ to see Emile Smith Rowe leave the Emirates Stadium for Newcastle United.
As Bent is keen to point out, speaking to talkSPORT about the future of Arsenal’s number ten, it is not all that long ago since Emile Smith Rowe was something of a ray of sunlight piercing through the pitch black clouds hanging over the red side of North London.
How times have changed.
The Arsenal academy graduate missed much of last season through injury and has fallen even further down the pecking order following the arrival of Kai Havertz from Chelsea, The Mirror reporting that Newcastle United are now lining up a potential January swoop.
Gunners-mad Bent, however, fears Arsenal would be making a mistake letting Smith Rowe go, particularly given Havertz’s struggles and the lack of genuine top-quality depth at Arteta’s disposal.
Newcastle eye Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe
“It surprises me that he’s not getting much game time,” the former England international explains (16 October, 5pm). “Arteta seems to have lost all trust in him, which is bonkers. He kept him in a job a few years ago!
“I would be gutted to see him leave. If you ask me who can play that (in that ‘number eight role’), I would rather Smith Rowe over Havertz every day of the week. He needs to stay.
“I’d love him to stay.”
‘A great signing for Newcastle’
Former Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan, also featuring on talkSPORT’s daily Drive show, believes Smith Rowe would be a ‘great signing’ for the Magpies, and you’d struggle to find many on Tyneside who disagree with such an assessment.
Smith Rowe only turned 23 in July, and it’s not even two years since he hit double figures in a Premier League campaign from attacking midfield. A silky, string-pulling schemer, meanwhile remains one of the most obvious holes in the Newcastle squad, links with Gabri Veiga, Dominik Szoboszlai, James Maddison and co coming and going over the summer months.
The Times believe that Arsenal are likely to demand around £40 million.
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