Injuries, Uncertainty, Should Arsenal really think about selling Smith Rowe?

The Smith's injury-plagued season is making some ask this very hard question

The 2022-2023 season hasn’t been memorable for Emile Smith Rowe.

Once considered the herald of change at Arsenal, given the number 10 shirt and put up against Bukayo Saka in “whose ceiling is higher?” style conversations, Smith Rowe has played just over an hour of competitive football this season, less than Karl Jakob Hein.

It’s probably no coincidence, then, that Smith Rowe missing Arsenal’s best start to a season in decades has led some in the Arsenal community to question whether it’s time to say goodbye to the homegrown attacker and midfielder.

But should Arsenal really sell Smith Rowe?

The question of need

The most basic question you can ask about a player, as it relates to squad-building, is what his role within the squad really is.

In ESR’s case, his role for the first half of last season was pretty defined: He was starting at left wing nearly every game. In the season prior, he spent time either at number 10 or out wide (after Martin Ødegaard’s acquisition).

Things look less clear today.

Mikel Arteta within the last month made comments that certainly made it unclear what Smith Rowe’s long-term position in the club would be, calling him a midfielder, an attacker and even a number nine.

Looking at those positions shouldn’t be the most encouraging for Smith Rowe.

On the wing, where he played his most minutes last season, he’s been nearly completely eclipsed by Gabriel Martinelli. Arsenal spent much of January chasing Mykhailo Mudryk, despite the anticipation of an ESR return after the holidays. And when Mudryk fell through, they added Leandro Trossard.

Particularly given the latter’s age and performance since joining, it seems likely ESR would be a third choice left wing at best.

At the number nine, Arsenal may be more set than at any other position. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah have each performed brilliantly this season, and neither seems likely to be outshined by a player who’s barely played 9 at the top level. What’s more, Folarin Balogun is shining brightly in France, and will either be given a chance to join the fray or moved for significant money. And there are only more great 9s in the assembly line, meaning available minutes there are paltry at best.

In the midfield, there’s a bit more opportunity…for now. Albert Sambi Lokonga is gone, leaving more time for potential Granit Xhaka backups to play. That could include Smith Rowe, Trossard, Fabio Vieira or even new acquisition Jorginho. But it’s hard to say with any certainty which player would actually be the choice if Xhaka missed significant time and significant games were coming up.

And once again, the long-term prospects don’t look great. Arsenal are very prominently linked with multiple midfielders — most recently Declan Rice and Moisés Caicedo. If the Gunners are able to bag any combination of two similarly-touted players, they would almost certainly have to play together for a significant amount of time. That is, unless Xhaka (don’t expect it) or Thomas Partey (unsellable) move on in summer.

While the ability to play in each of these positions is a valuable skill, what sets Smith Rowe apart from someone like Gabriel Jesus, or Declan Rice, is that he likely wouldn’t be the first choice as a backup in any of them. At least not as things stand. And that’s worrying for him.

Injuries, injuries, injuries

This whole discussion is only exacerbated by injuries and fitness. ESR looked less than fit over the second half of last season, got surgery to repair a longtime issue this autumn, seemingly returned in January but has been out since, either because of a setback or because Arsenal are being extremely careful with his recovery.

It’s always frustrating to see a player come back, then get injured and sit out for what seems like ever, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be re-integrated once their recurring injury ends. Takehiro Tomiyasu, for all his fragility last season, has been quite reliable this season. But that won’t do away with questions about the player’s ability to get healthy and stay healthy, the latter being one of the most important traits a player can have.

So…sell?

Add this all up and you’ve got a player who 1) doesn’t have a nailed-on spot in Arsenal’s lineup, 2) has barely contributed to the club’s best season in years and 3) has legitimate recurring fitness issues. That’s often exactly the type of player you sell. But Arsenal have absolutely no reason to seek a sale this summer.

Football is a business, but that’s not all it is. Arsenal Football Club, in particular, is a family. We just saw loyalty weigh on the club’s likely Mohamed Elneny extension, for example, a move we’ve seen Arsenal make in the past as well.

Mark Mann-Bryans @MarkyMBryans

Expecting Arsenal to trigger Mohamed Elneny's option to extend his contract by a further 12 months. Conversations under way and injury has not had an impact on the decision, which could be announced in the next week or so.

The reality is Smith Rowe isn’t living up to the standards many have in mind for him, but not so much due to circumstances within his control.

The other angle to consider is whether he’s blocking the club from properly moving forward, and he’s simply not. The contract he signed in 2021 is said to be worth about £40,000 per week, somewhere around a quarter of what Martinelli’s new deal is for. That money isn’t stopping Arsenal from doing any business, and he’s not blocking up a key spot in the squad.

Arsenal are also under no deadlines. Smith Rowe’s contract as of today runs until 2026, and he hasn’t performed to a level that would justify a new one. The only way there should be any pressure to sell is if the player himself demands it, and it’s hard to see an academy star who was given chances like ESR making such a rash move after just one season of trouble.

Even if Arsenal did receive and accept and attractive offer for ESR, I’d wonder whether the player would actually want to make the move.

At this stage, it’s perfectly understandable why anyone might wonder what ESR’s future may hold. But take it from me: Nothing is set in stone. About 18 months ago, I wrote a column for a different site proclaiming my fear that Martinelli didn’t have a spot at Arsenal moving forward, and we all know how that turned out.