Arsenal's selling of Emile Smith Rowe shows paradigm shift under Arteta

Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe is looking increasingly likely to depart the club this summer, which highlights just how the Gunners have evolved under Mikel Arteta.

Call me old fashioned or just one for the romance of football, but seeing a Hale End graduate on the verge of leaving Arsenal is tough to deal with...especially when that player is Emile Smith Rowe.

It feels like forever since Emile signed his new contract, which saw him given Mesut Ozil's No. 10 jersey. Many thought that this was the start of his ascension into stardom. Unfortunately, life doesn't work out that way.

With Mikel Arteta driving super high standards that have transformed the club into a domestic powerhouse, Arsenal has now left Smith Rowe behind. In years gone by, if the club was starving for talent and depth, and a player like Emile, despite his injury history, still had a place in the squad.

But not under Arteta, and that is perhaps a good thing. It shows the club's growth and progress.

In an ideal world, the club wouldn't sell Smith Rowe, and he would fight back to be a reliable contributor for the Gunners and make good on his potential with the club, much like Bukayo Saka.

But alas, here we sit with a bidding war now coming for ESR's services.

With the opportunity for first-team football seen as the key reason for the split, Arsenal has already knocked back a bid from Fulham, per The Standard, and now could also see Crystal Palace come knocking for his services.

With the Gunners needing funds to secure their summer transfer targets, while it may not be ideal to sell a player who is so beloved by the club, its fans, and players, considering Smith Rowe's past 24 months and the money that a sale would generate, it is an easy decision.

If you had asked me a couple of seasons ago that Smith Rowe would fall down the pecking order under Arteta, be riddled with injuries, and potentially be out of the club by the time he's 23, I would have laughed at you.

But here we sit, with that close to becoming a reality, as the Arsenal juggernaut under Arteta wastes no time in leaving those deemed surplus to requirements behind.

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