"If you’re not playing football you’re wasting away" - Gabby Agbonlahor urges Arsenal star to leave club amid exit links
Gabby Agbonlahor has told Emile Smith Rowe to seal a move away from Arsenal this summer to reignite his career. The English attacker has lacked first-team opportunities at the Emirates in recent years.
Smith Rowe, 23, started just four of 19 games across competitions last season. He's increasingly fallen down Mikel Arteta's pecking order, and this started after a lengthy spell out with a groin problem two years ago.
Aston Villa and Fulham are linked with Smith Rowe and Agbonlahor thinks he should choose the Champions League competing Villains over the Cottagers. The former Villa forward told talkSPORT:
"He should be going somewhere now – if it’s Fulham I think he could do better than Fulham. There was a stage where Aston Villa were interested in him and that didn’t work out, but if I’m him I’m thinking I could do better than Fulham."
Smith Rowe could remain in London if he opts to join Fulham who are pushing to sign the three-cap England international. He was tipped to become a superstar at the Emirates, but Agbonlahor warned him about wasting away:
"It is a chance to stay in London (moving to Fulham) and at 24 years old he still has another move in him. Players don’t want to leave big clubs sometimes, it’s hard to leave when he’s been there since 10 and he’s Arsenal through and through. But if you’re not playing football you’re wasting away.”
Smith Rowe debuted for Arsenal's senior team in September 2018, aged 18. Current Villa boss Unai Emery handed him his debut, but he appears closer to a move to Fulham.
Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe is reportedly waiting to fly to London for a medical with Fulham
Smith Rowe is closing in on a move to Fulham and is awaiting the two London clubs to fully agree on a deal, Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth. He'll leave Arsenal's pre-season tour of the United States and return to the English capital for a medical once an agreement is made.
The former RB Leipzig loanee is set to join the Cottagers in a reported £35 million deal. That fee will make him the biggest sale in the Gunners' history, and he'll likely become a prominent starter under Marco Silva.
Fulham finished 13th in the Premier League last season and have been a tricky side during Silva's reign. Smith Rowe could flourish in midfield alongside Harrison Reed and Andreas Pereira.