It appears that Arsenal will have a busy summer of transfer ins and outs as Mikel Arteta attempts to resurrect his team’s competitiveness. This summer, Arsenal has already signed Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga. The Gunners are rumored to be interested in signing Tammy Abraham, Ben White, James Maddison, Aaron Ramsdale, and others. Granit Xhaka, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette, and Eddie Nketiah are all expected to depart the club in the near future. After Aston Villa expressed interest, Emile Smith Rowe has pledged his future to the club until 2026.
It means Arteta can now construct his team around two great young players, 20-year-old Smith Rowe and 19-year-old Bukayo Saka, for the long haul. Saka signed a new four-year deal in July of last year and went on to have a fantastic season, so Arsenal will be hoping for a similar boost for Smith Rowe to continue his upward trend.
Kieran Tierney has been re-signed by the Gunners on a fresh contract until 2026. Arsenal will be revitalized with young talent at hand. Arsenal’s homegrown stars Smith Rowe and Saka will be pivotal in their efforts.
Smith Rowe, who turns 21 on Wednesday, will now have to take the next step in his career. It was a wonderful symbolic touch to hand him the No 10 shirt, following in the footsteps of Paul Merson, Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie, Jack Wilshere, and Mesut Ozil, but it also came with responsibilities. Now he’ll have to equal that role’s performance, as well as the quantity of goals and assists. Smith Rowe only had four goals and seven assists last season, but he has already been set a goal.
Smith Rowe and Arsenal are expected to improve significantly with the appropriate arrivals to enhance the club, as well as the absence of Europa League action every midweek.