"It’s important to understand where he is" - Mikel Arteta confirms talks with Arsenal star after failed summer transfer
Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Emile Smith Rowe will have a part to play in Arsenal's team this season after he was reportedly denied a summer transfer to Chelsea.
According to the Express, the Blues wanted to sign Smith Rowe but their advances were rebuffed by the Gunners. The Englishman's future at the Emirates has been the topic of intense speculation recently after he failed to feature in any of his team's opening three Premier League games.
Arteta seems to have settled on a starting XI which doesn't feature the Englishman. He largely plays as an attacking midfielder — a position occupied by skipper Martin Odegaard.
Giving his opinion on Smith Rowe's future at the north London club, Arteta recently said:
"I had a conversation with him and it’s important to understand where he is. The first three or four weeks were always going to be tricky for all the clubs.
"You see all the rumours and players who are not happy in every country because it’s one game per week for a month and everybody has a new season with huge aspirations, there are not minutes for everybody. September will be very different."
The Hale End Academy graduate has been at Arsenal since 2010 and has registered 18 goals and 11 assists in 97 senior appearances for them. He was slowly pushed to the fringes of the Gunners' team last season, playing just 161 minutes of Premier League football.
The 23-year-old still has three years left on his contract at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta tells Arsenal fans to be patient with Kai Havertz
Mikel Arteta has asked Arsenal supporters to be patient and show love to Kai Havertz, who is struggling for form at the moment.
The German playmaker arrived at the Emirates from Chelsea for a fee of £65 million this summer. Since then, he has been used as a left-sided central midfielder — a role in which he has struggled to make a tangible impact.
Pundit Darren Bent is among many to question what the 24-year-old brings to Arsenal's midfield. But Arteta believes people need to be patient with the 37-cap Germany international. He said recently (h/t the Telegraph):
"It is difficult to ask more of our supporters and our people, but my feeling is: give him love and we will get the best out of him. I think we have some very beautiful examples in the last years with players that we have given a lot of support, and they have felt that love and they just exploded."
In Arsenal's latest 2-2 league draw against Fulham on August 26, Havertz was hooked in the 56th minute with his team 1-0 down and in need of goals.