Mikel Arteta could change his mind over Arsenal transfer promise amid FFP fears

17 January 2024 , 13:46

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Mikel Arteta has previously played down talk of selling Emile Smith Rowe (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC)

Mikel Arteta could reconsider his stance on selling Emile Smith Rowe in the coming months to give Arsenal more room to manoeuvre in the transfer market.

The Gunners spent heavily in the summer window, splashing out a record £105million on Declan Rice and further funds on deals for Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber. That outlay came 12 months after the club splashed the cash in the summer of 2022 to secure the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

After coming up short in the title race last year, Arsenal are well placed to challenge for the Premier League crown again this term but are once again in need of reinforcements. It remains to be seen, though, how much Arteta will have to spend.

Raising additional funds through player sales would give Arsenal some wiggle room in regards to their Financial Fair Play commitments and Smith Rowe is one such figure who is likely to attract interest.

A new report from The Athletic has outlined that although Arteta remains keen to retain Smith Rowe's services, Arsenal's position on the versatile midfielder could shift given that any funds raised from selling an academy product, like Smith Rowe, would count as pure profit.

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The 23-year-old has struggled for regular game time after recovering from injury and has started just two matches this season: the 5-0 win over Sheffield United in the Premier League and Arsenal's slender victory over Brentford in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

However, the report goes on to outline that Smith Rowe is not angling for a move and believes he is more than good enough to play a part in Arteta's team.

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Smith Rowe has hardly featured for Arsenal this term and has been linked with other Premier League clubs

Smith Rowe was the subject of transfer interest from Chelsea in the latter stages of the summer window and links to the Blues have resurfaced this month. Newcastle have also been credited with an interest in the England international's services.

Arteta attempted to quash talk of a potential transfer earlier this month, though and promised that Smith Rowe would get an opportunity to stake his claim for regular football. The Spaniard said of interest in the Hale End graduate: "This is a two-way conversation all the time with players.

"I love listening to them about how they are feeling, what is the best thing for them, or what they want to do. Because you really have to be aligned with them and how they are feeling and they have to feel important. This is still the biggest part of the season to play now and we have to be patient, and he will have his chances"

Dan Marsh