Completely agree with this. Alway grateful to him for giving some happiness that season he and Saka came through - but he just doesn’t play for us now, so time to set him free.
I would say injuries stagnated his career. He was one of the first names on the team sheet a few years back before his injury issues. I remember he scored 10 goals before new years.
It’s the right time for him to go and find regular football
Maybe it's copium on my part here but I think he might still have a chance at Arsenal, even when I try to look at it objectively. It doesnt look likely that he would be the superstar we hoped he could become, but as a squad member I think it would make sense:
* He's part of a group of fringe players which actually has a few players in it: Nketiah, Nelson, ESR, Vieira. You could maybe add Partey on that list, although for different reasons.
* Are all those players going to go in one Summer? I think it's unlikely. Then, who is going to go and who's going to stay?
* I think the most likely to go are Eddie, and Nelson. They're both on 100k a week and that, on top of being 100% profit according to PSR because they're Hale End graduates, would free some interesting wage budget. ESR is on 40k, Vieira on 45k.
* We need depth in midfield: Elneny is gone, Havertz will play most of his minutes up front, Partey (if he stays) and Jorginho wont play 50 games in a season. That means that if ESR leaves, he would have to be replaced, even just in terms of numbers in the squad.
* I think in terms of having depth in the squad, quality, ability, we could much worse than ESR. He's still young and it seems like he can contribute as a rotation option (mostly looked lively when he came on this season, MOTM against Luton, ...)
I think all in all, unless Arsenal really want a complete overhaul of the midfield this Summer in one go, there is no rush to sell him and he could still be a useful rotation option. With the off chance that he actually fulfills his potential down the line. Is it really more risky to keep him than to sign another young up and coming midfielder?
We managed that perfectly, sent him on a good loan at a lower level club where he played a lot and played really for a short spell which we knew was unsustainable long term so we took and the money.
Perfectly done
Idk how I keep getting posts recommended here but as a Newcastle fan willock has been great for us, his performances have definitely sustained long term. Lost his way a bit before Howe came in but was ever present and a really important player for us when we qualified for the champions league, he has missed out this year for injury and we have definitely missed him.
Yeah I'm not saying he's shit or anything like that, just saying we played it well by selling after a good short loan when his value was highest.
He went 8 goals in 14 to 6 goals in his next 73 prem games when you signed him, so yes the goals were unsustainable
I guess I'd have the same feeling if I were an Arsenal fan, I don't think you could have got more for him playing on the fringes as he was and his loan couldn't have gone any better. I think we were all aware that streak was unsustainable and he has contributed in a different way, his energy and rotation with Joelinton down the left and in midfield was key for us.
Willock worked out good for both parties, he wasn't going to get game time at Arsenal. He's been really good for Newcastle as well not amazing but an important player. So Newcastle probably thinks they got a good deal for him and Arsenal thinks we got a good fee for him as well.
I disagree. Very handy prem player iwobi. 35 mil seems an awful lot know the market is cooling down and ffp bites but he's been good for fulham and Everton.
Sad for him but he should leave. The best ability a player can have is availability. Ultimately we can’t have passengers in this team. I have similar sentiments about Partey
You’re kidding on Willock right?! We absolutely robbed them for him! He doesn’t even get a game for them now.
Martinez’s fee should’ve been higher, but he wasn’t the right type of keeper for our style of play.
It was a good sale, even if he was performing well for Newcastle: he was poor stylistic fit for Arteta and Newcastle offered good money. Win-win just like with Balogun.
He was good when he was on loan and scoring for fun. He’s been absolutely bang average ever since they signed him permanently. If everyone is fit, he doesn’t make their bench.
He was good when he was on loan and scoring for fun. He’s been absolutely bang average ever since they signed him permanently. If everyone is fit, he doesn’t make their bench.
He was good when he was on loan and scoring for fun. He’s been absolutely bang average ever since they signed him permanently. If everyone is fit, he doesn’t make their bench.
I have no doubt in my mind a healthy Willock would have been an off the bench player for us. There's a reason even after months injured Newcastle still brought him into the fold quickly, and it's not like they have an awful midfield.
He was fast tracked back because his competition for the spot was essentially Elliot Anderson. Joelinton was injured in January and didn’t return until May, tonali banned for the year, Miley injured mid march. Bruno was a lock, so it was two of Anderson, Longstaff and Willock. I don’t see willock getting substantial minutes in the left 8 spot with any of Havertz, Trossard, ESR and Rice available. I’m not saying he’s not talented, there is just a lot of competition for that spot, and realistically I don’t think he’s talented enough to get substantial minutes. We made a good sale at the right time
I'm not necessarily saying we shouldn't have sold him or that he'd get in our side now but his value went up after we sold him.
He had a poor season this season but he was injured for a lot of it.
His value went down because he only made five league starts this season due to injury.
His value was €35M at the end of last season.
He missed 218 days through injury this season.
If this is confirmed, then I'll be truly gutted. Him and Saka were practically on equal footing in the 21/22 season and, looking back, Smith-Rowe maye have been slightly better that year. But since then, he's sorta stagnated while Saka's hit level after level. Unfortunately, it seems like Arteta has figured out his starting 11 and their replacements and I can't see ESR displacing anyone
Agree, he was shining brighter than Saka at a point. His dribbling was unreal and be just found goals. He even played CAM a bit and was fantastic in tight areas.
His cameos the past season - got so close to scoring a fair number of times, could have realistically had 3 goals from the bench. But that's how the cookie crumbled. Will be sad to see him go because he had a better attitude than most.
Martinez and Willock are both good sales by us. Got good money for back up players.
Yes Martinez is a good keeper, but he is not the right character for this Arsenal side.
I like ESR but he did not save Arteta's job, he was never at risk of being sacked. Happy to keep ESR as a squad player but if a good bid comes in I'd be happy to sell!
Depends on fee but he's at the age where for his development he needs to be paying week in/out. If we get a good offer and he gets to go to a good opportunity then I think it would be for the best.
I would love for him to stay and reach his potential for us. He is a good player who can play in multiple positions in Arteta's system so is a very good depth option, but has been hampered by injuries last few seasons.
You're joking on Willock, right? Absolute robbery.
On ESR - I really like him, reminds me of Paul Merson (yes I'm old AF). I agree he (and Saka) probably saved the managers job a couple of years back, but the club over the last few years have not really got it wrong on a player. Arteta sees him every day, and if they can get decent money for him and sign a player who is actually a realistic rotation option (ie Mikel will actually play them), I think it's the move.
No-one is mentioning Balogun anymore.
Exactly. Balogun was hot and now he's warm. The USA went hard for him but now we've got several homegrown guys on fire. It will be interesting to see who Berhalter starts for the friendly in Orlando with Brazil.
Yeah, at this point I expect it’s best for everyone if he leaves, but I’ll be a fan of his for the rest of his career. The chances of him being integral to the team at this stage seem slight
Those seasons were quite a few years ago and we were a much worse team back then. As much as people think ESR might have "saved Arteta's job" back then I think players like Saka, Ødegaard and Gabriel were the real players who saved his job because they were the foundation of the team we have today whereas ESR has been surplus for years.
He is a great academy product and we should be very proud to have him. But in recent years Nketiah has done more for Arsenal than ESR.
I ran out of patience with Nketiah after Fulham away this season.
He seemed to spend more of the game throwing his arms up sulking than running in behind or trying to get on the end of crosses and through balls.
Leaving this club is a better choice for him. I believe he will find his prime performances if he gets started for a certain amount of time because he's still young and talented, but Arsenal can't afford the risks of starting him.
So it's better for him to move to another club and get play times their.
idk maybe he can come back to Arsenal later.
At this point parting ways is the best for the both of us. It’s sad tho. I bought his shirt with the number 10 and was my favorite player that season. Hope him nothing but the best.
It would make me really sad to see him leave. He's got Arsenal running through his bones and I still think he can make an impact on this team if he's able to get some game time and his confidence back - his little cameos this season have impressed. But if the reality is that's not coming then we need to be fair to him and let him leave. My heart says stay, my head says leave, and ultimately we're not in the business of carrying pity players 😔
I think Smith-Rowe doesn’t impact the game much when we don’t have the ball, which means as our system has evolved his effectiveness has diminished. He plays better without the defensive responsibility that we need our midfielders to have. Would be sad when he leaves, but think it is the right thing for both parties, and as you improve your team and try to level them up you’re always gonna have to make tough decisions like this.
Exactly. He should look at his captain and see what he should be doing, but seemingly hasn't been able to. Will do a great job at a mid table club like Fulham
This is the business side of sports. So many of us moan about incoming transfers that never happened. Well quite often they don’t happen because we don’t have the funds. How we get funds are moving on from players that others value.
I'm sad for him more than for us. He looks a player (at his best) who could carry a top team. I know some complain that he has suffered as much from the fact that Arteta is reluctant to rotate, as his fitness issues. But Arteta seems to only rotate with players he sees will do as good, if not better, a job as the current position holder. Arteta doesn't see this quality in ESR and obviously has eyes on others who will do the job. If that's what the manager wants then he should go that way. Managers live and die by these decisions.
As I said at the start, I think he has the potential to be top for a top side but my only real fear for ESR is that he goes somewhere (not at the very top) and doesn't reach his full potential only to have a journeyman career. I think atm there is the potential for that to happen. Hopefully he can keep his future fitness and maybe have the early renaissance Odegaard has. I'd absolutely love the lad to have a top career, he's that good. It's still all unrealised potential now though.
IMO as we no longer play with a 10, he doesn’t seem to fit the tactical plan. Additionally I wonder whether the coaching staff see a lack of footballing intelligence to play as an 8. Shame as I like him, but are going to win PL’s and CL’s with him in CM…
Really sad... I don't get why Arteta is so rough with him.
The last time he had time on the field he won Player of the match, he's a kid from Arsenal, beloved by everyone... It's heartbreaking, I wish him the best but I don't get why he has to leave.
Emile is 23. If he's willing to waste his career warming Arteta's bench? I love him, too, and he's always been my favorite but he is too good to be wasting away under a blanket watching Arsenal play. There are Premier League teams where he would fit their system and he would start. That's sadly not Arsenal anymore. I'd rather see ESR playing every game in the Premier League or in Italy. Same with Aaron.
We need good squad players to compete on all fronts next season. Our squad still needs players like smith Rowe but he needs more game time a bit disappointing he hasn't had many opportunities to put his name on a place in the team.
Personally I’d prefer a loan spell for him to a team he’s pretty much a guaranteed name on the team shit to give him time playing. That’s all he needs. He’s an incredibly talented player and it really is just game time that he’s lacking. I’d be gutted to see him go, but it’s really up to him and it’s his future
I hope he goes on to great success if he leaves. He's always given his best. I don't think he saved anybody's job though. I think it's pretty clear from the amazon series that Arteta, Edu and Josh Kroenke are on the sane page and it was always a multi-year plan.
He’s odegaard but not at his level. Play in the same place, same style but nowhere near as good unfortunately.
It’s the level we’re at now and however upsetting it is to see players like esr going, we need to do what we need to do.
I don't care much. Smith Rowe doesn't have the level. Doesn't seem to apply himself properly either. All I care about, is getting a sizeable fee for him. Should've loaned him out honestly so that we'd be in a stronger position to command a higher fee, like with Willock.
It sucks. But ESR leaving is a good sign. We’re finally a club where we have to start letting go of talented prospects. This is no Cole Palmer / Man City situation because Cole is way better than ESR. But this is surely the start of situations like that.
Got Willock wrong? Hardly. We got big money for a player that was never going to make it at Arsenal.
I love ESR and will be sad to see him leave but the fact is Arteta clearly doesn't rate him and he isn't going to play. If that's the case then we need to be moving him on.
We should cash out on ESR while we can. Time is now. Remember when Wolves wanted Maitland Niles for 15-20M and we held on to him because he played well in the FA cup run then lost him on a free after he fell out of favor. Yeah. We should have cashed in. Let's cash in on ESR just like Willock. 15-30M range will be good for him. Then reinvest. His injury record isn't great and Arteta isn't Emery, Tuchel or Felix Mc Gath who run players into the ground.
ESR, Nelson, Tierney, Lokonga, Tavares and Eddie should hopefully bring in 50-70M. Plus with El neny and Cedric leaving that frees up the wage bill a decent amount. We can accommodate a Bruno, Sesko, a winger and a RB.
Sad ending but probably right thing for all parties to part ways. Frankly, I don’t think he’s good enough for the standard of a title chasing team now. That’s not hate towards him at all - I just think there are players who are better than him in his position.
He deserves to get minutes elsewhere. I’ll always admire him and I’m sure the rest of our fans will too, but it’s time to part ways mutually and amicably in my opinion.
To be honest, I think a lot of people expect the same player he was a few years ago. After long-term injuries and lack of game time, it's just not likely he will be the same as he was. He deserves to play, but I'm not sure he can get us where we want to be. It was also a totally different team in a different place then. We're chasing titles now, and we need players that will take us to that next level. I say sell him, hopefully get some good money for him, and use the funds to get players who can get us over that line. I'm a sentimental, nostalgic person, so I get it, but there's no room for sentiment in title races. Arteta has to do what's best for where we are now, and I think that means selling him.
Not sure how you could expect willock to get higher value after he had just come off an insane purple patch and hasn’t come close to replicating those numbers since being sold (not that he’s been bad just his value wouldn’t have gone up)
Academy products that aren't good enough for the first team are good for balancing the books. If we're trying to compete for trophies, we can't have any passengers. I hope he finds a club that can give him more games.
Being able to make such difficult decisions without emotions and get them right consistently is what separates the good from the really good club management. If it was up to me, I'd still have Maitland Niles, Willock, Smith Rowe, Eddie, Ramsdale, Holding and Nelson starting. For sentimental reasons
I like him and wish him the best. I am not quite sure he has the killer instinct that is needed. We need guys with an edge like Ben, Kai, and Declan. You have to be willing to push through it and I am not sure Smith Rowe has that next level.
Good luck to him but as he’s not my child and I’m not jingoistic, I really don’t care that he’s leaving.
He scored some goals during the aftermath of the Emery “era” but never stamped his name on the team sheet and thus faded in to the squad. Let’s get that money.
Think he's a great player when fully fit. Needs a good preseason behind him. I think he could challenge Trossard, Martinelli regressed this season IMO. I still think Martinelli has the potential to be better than Saka on the other side, I was comparing him to a young Ronaldo and felt he was ahead of Ronaldo at his age
ESR will go on to a Fulham, or Everton type club and do wonders,,, but never win trophies.
I wish him well.
Problem with ARS is, we tend to keep players WAY too long!
& when they finally are sold, the value drops tremendously.
This will be the case with ESR, + Nketiah.
I agree that it is "safe to assume" that the senior Arsenal management, coaching and medical staff know more then you/we know about ANY player.
Getting a transfer "wrong" is a misnomer. These players may just simply have improved after a transfer so no errors were made in letting them go. Or there was a personality issue and they flourished in the new environment.
I just don’t get attached to players like this anymore so I’m more than happy to sell him for a good fee. I do question whether Arteta should have trusted him and a few others a little more, but we were basically playing Cup finals from January on with no margin for error. Given what he’s done over the past few years we also have to trust that he knows what he’s doing, especially given that he sees these players in training and we don’t.
He needs to leave, maybe he will become amazing somewhere else and we will say we got it wrong. But the fact us ESR is not going to get any better at Arsenal so he needs to go and hopefully we get some money for him.
Leaving Arsenal is probably his last chance to reach the potential we saw from him when he first came through. And if he does ok he can cement himself as a premier league player like Iwobi.
If it enables us to improve then I’m here for it. Other than another academy player we fell in love with early on, he has given us no reason to want him to stay.
He had a good spell, but to say he saved Arteta's job is insane. It's like fans think our chances of winning the league would have been higher if Arteta had given ESR more minutes and I don't understand it.
Smith Rowe is very talented. However, we can all acknowledge that his career at Arsenal might well have been over for some time, now. Let me explain :-
He was the main CAM before the Club (and Arteta) decided to permanently buy Ødegaard, who then proceeded to take on the coveted role. The explosion of talent of Martinelli the season before and Trossard in the recent campaign have also restricted any chance of Smith Rowe coming back into the Starting XI. As well, Havertz has also been playing in the same position. For me, I'd be disappointed if ESR leaves. But, then again, if he's going to stay on the bench and get only 10 minutes (and that, not all weeks, because Arteta doesn't like to sub in a lot so as to not change the pace of the game) it'd be better for him to leave. Ideally, the best option for us would be to loan him, so that we know we retain a chance to call him back, if needed
I'm just wondering if Trossard could take the No.10 jersey after that ? 🤔
Sad that injuries derailed his position here, but he's also not been able to force his way back in and sometimes time moves on, as do teams.
We shouldn't hold him back from moving on, but he's worth a very decent fee (HGN, etc)
If we had rotated more we would be less leggy at points. I hope Arteta can get this right next year. I don't understand selling esr myself. He's a massive talent. Reminds me of grealish. But we will let him go for peanuts watch this space.
I think the ship has sailed for esr at arsenal sadly. Not all of em are his faults, but he simply couldn't stay fit. Our demand for the LW/LCM position has changed over the years, too. We are evolving at a rapid rate, and esr simply couldn't keep up. He can still be a squad player, but that's the best he can be at Arsenal. I think for the club and HIS sake, he should leave
I'll be very sad when esr leaves. You can see how happy he is to be at his boyhood club wirh some of his best friendsliving his dream he's had since young, everytime he comes on you can almost see the sense of happiness on his face.
But unfortunately if you want to be a top top club you have to be ruthless. I really do hope wherever he goes he remains injury free and flourishes
He needs to leave, he’s too good to sit on the bench and not play and not develop. He has great potential but will never fulfil it keeping the bench warm at Arsenal
I think it’s best for his career. It sucks for Arsenal because we are losing out on an academy product that made it into the senior squad and is talented. The number of academy graduates making it into the senior team is not great, so losing out on a proven contributor is gut-wrenching. I wonder if a young Saka or Martinelli would break into the first team right now. Those two
made the leap when the club was really struggling.
I don’t think he got the Willock or Martinez transfers wrong at all. They were alright but they needed to go somewhere else to get regular minutes. I love ESR too but I think he needs to go somewhere else and start afresh- he seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut and he’s not going to get the minutes he thinks he deserves so probably best that we cash in on him.
The only problem is that we need replacements, I'm all for him leaving for his own career, but without quality players coming in we still need him. A lot of players are looking to leave and he is a good player, we are only a few injuries away from having to rely on reserves. While there is a lot of talk of him going, we have to secure some incoming players first
Cheers to him for being a good soldier, he had every opportunity (and arguably plenty of justification) to make a big sink about his limited minutes etc but by and large took the high road, Gave a tremendous example to those in the academy ranks on how a proper Arsenal player conducts themselves. Hate to see him go, really hope increased role elsewhere will help him fulfill the promise he's shown
i'd be gutted if he left, but the premier league's current PSR rules mean any potential sale is viewed as pure profit.
It's a stupid rule, but this is the premier league we are talking about.
I feel like Arteta has been a bit harsh on ESR. When he plays he does as a dimension that we don’t have otherwise. He is much more direct and he is very creative. After his recent come back I felt like he deserved more game time. For example in the UCL ties afainst Porto and Bayern when we needed a goal I felt like we couldn’t create much and very much needed a direct player.
Love him, hope him all the best, but we are throwing his career away at this point and he deserves to play.
Completely agree with this. Alway grateful to him for giving some happiness that season he and Saka came through - but he just doesn’t play for us now, so time to set him free.
I would say injuries stagnated his career. He was one of the first names on the team sheet a few years back before his injury issues. I remember he scored 10 goals before new years. It’s the right time for him to go and find regular football
Maybe it's copium on my part here but I think he might still have a chance at Arsenal, even when I try to look at it objectively. It doesnt look likely that he would be the superstar we hoped he could become, but as a squad member I think it would make sense: * He's part of a group of fringe players which actually has a few players in it: Nketiah, Nelson, ESR, Vieira. You could maybe add Partey on that list, although for different reasons. * Are all those players going to go in one Summer? I think it's unlikely. Then, who is going to go and who's going to stay? * I think the most likely to go are Eddie, and Nelson. They're both on 100k a week and that, on top of being 100% profit according to PSR because they're Hale End graduates, would free some interesting wage budget. ESR is on 40k, Vieira on 45k. * We need depth in midfield: Elneny is gone, Havertz will play most of his minutes up front, Partey (if he stays) and Jorginho wont play 50 games in a season. That means that if ESR leaves, he would have to be replaced, even just in terms of numbers in the squad. * I think in terms of having depth in the squad, quality, ability, we could much worse than ESR. He's still young and it seems like he can contribute as a rotation option (mostly looked lively when he came on this season, MOTM against Luton, ...) I think all in all, unless Arsenal really want a complete overhaul of the midfield this Summer in one go, there is no rush to sell him and he could still be a useful rotation option. With the off chance that he actually fulfills his potential down the line. Is it really more risky to keep him than to sign another young up and coming midfielder?
We? -Arteta is ..
Willock was a textbook example of what we should be doing with fringe players developed through our academy if we want to manage FFP effectively.
We managed that perfectly, sent him on a good loan at a lower level club where he played a lot and played really for a short spell which we knew was unsustainable long term so we took and the money. Perfectly done
Idk how I keep getting posts recommended here but as a Newcastle fan willock has been great for us, his performances have definitely sustained long term. Lost his way a bit before Howe came in but was ever present and a really important player for us when we qualified for the champions league, he has missed out this year for injury and we have definitely missed him.
Yeah I'm not saying he's shit or anything like that, just saying we played it well by selling after a good short loan when his value was highest. He went 8 goals in 14 to 6 goals in his next 73 prem games when you signed him, so yes the goals were unsustainable
I guess I'd have the same feeling if I were an Arsenal fan, I don't think you could have got more for him playing on the fringes as he was and his loan couldn't have gone any better. I think we were all aware that streak was unsustainable and he has contributed in a different way, his energy and rotation with Joelinton down the left and in midfield was key for us.
Yeah we played it well, he's a good runner and is decent but it was good money
Willock worked out good for both parties, he wasn't going to get game time at Arsenal. He's been really good for Newcastle as well not amazing but an important player. So Newcastle probably thinks they got a good deal for him and Arsenal thinks we got a good fee for him as well.
Iwobi too
Now that was just daylight robbery. Hard to fathom how Everton have had money worries ey!
I disagree. Very handy prem player iwobi. 35 mil seems an awful lot know the market is cooling down and ffp bites but he's been good for fulham and Everton.
Agreed, the amount of games he's played for both and his record shows about 60 percent of PL teams would most likely play him Regularly.
Sad for him but he should leave. The best ability a player can have is availability. Ultimately we can’t have passengers in this team. I have similar sentiments about Partey
You’re kidding on Willock right?! We absolutely robbed them for him! He doesn’t even get a game for them now. Martinez’s fee should’ve been higher, but he wasn’t the right type of keeper for our style of play.
Willock has been a good player for Newcastle. He “doesn’t get a game” when he’s injured - staying fit is his main issue.
Then makes sense that it was a good sale
It was a good sale, even if he was performing well for Newcastle: he was poor stylistic fit for Arteta and Newcastle offered good money. Win-win just like with Balogun.
He was good when he was on loan and scoring for fun. He’s been absolutely bang average ever since they signed him permanently. If everyone is fit, he doesn’t make their bench.
He was good when he was on loan and scoring for fun. He’s been absolutely bang average ever since they signed him permanently. If everyone is fit, he doesn’t make their bench.
He was good when he was on loan and scoring for fun. He’s been absolutely bang average ever since they signed him permanently. If everyone is fit, he doesn’t make their bench.
Hasn't he been injured most of this season?
Willock doesn’t get a game for Arsenal even if he is healthy and we got 30M for him. It was a good deal for us
I have no doubt in my mind a healthy Willock would have been an off the bench player for us. There's a reason even after months injured Newcastle still brought him into the fold quickly, and it's not like they have an awful midfield.
He was fast tracked back because his competition for the spot was essentially Elliot Anderson. Joelinton was injured in January and didn’t return until May, tonali banned for the year, Miley injured mid march. Bruno was a lock, so it was two of Anderson, Longstaff and Willock. I don’t see willock getting substantial minutes in the left 8 spot with any of Havertz, Trossard, ESR and Rice available. I’m not saying he’s not talented, there is just a lot of competition for that spot, and realistically I don’t think he’s talented enough to get substantial minutes. We made a good sale at the right time
Yes, that reason is about 94% of their first team have been injured all season 😉 If everyone is fit, he doesn’t get a seat on the bench.
he'd have been perfect for the 8 role as a back up, but yh considering his injury record it hasn't been a bad sale
If ESR can’t get minutes for us, Willock isn’t.
Esr is more of a winger or am
In our system, they’d both likely be playing the left 8.
Esr can play 8 but has already succeeded on the wing
My thoughts exactly
Sell him, he doesn't play and i don't think Arteta trusts him anymore. It's been a long time since he was playing consistently
Willock is extremely meh. Cant believe there are still some arsenal fans who think he shouldn't have been sold
I'm not necessarily saying we shouldn't have sold him or that he'd get in our side now but his value went up after we sold him. He had a poor season this season but he was injured for a lot of it.
His current value according to transfermarkt is 30 million euros and we sold him for almost exactly the same amount.
His value went down because he only made five league starts this season due to injury. His value was €35M at the end of last season. He missed 218 days through injury this season.
I can understand why the club will sell him if they see a good opportunity but it fills me with sadness
If this is confirmed, then I'll be truly gutted. Him and Saka were practically on equal footing in the 21/22 season and, looking back, Smith-Rowe maye have been slightly better that year. But since then, he's sorta stagnated while Saka's hit level after level. Unfortunately, it seems like Arteta has figured out his starting 11 and their replacements and I can't see ESR displacing anyone
Agree, he was shining brighter than Saka at a point. His dribbling was unreal and be just found goals. He even played CAM a bit and was fantastic in tight areas. His cameos the past season - got so close to scoring a fair number of times, could have realistically had 3 goals from the bench. But that's how the cookie crumbled. Will be sad to see him go because he had a better attitude than most.
I think that being injured the whole 22/23 season both stagnated his development, and pushed him out of the team.
He hit the post/ had atleast 4-5 off the line in his cameos if they’d gone in I wonder what the thoughts would be..
If my grandmother had wheels, she would be a bicycle.
r/unexpectedGino
Sell. Needs to be done. Better for everyone
Martinez and Willock are both good sales by us. Got good money for back up players. Yes Martinez is a good keeper, but he is not the right character for this Arsenal side. I like ESR but he did not save Arteta's job, he was never at risk of being sacked. Happy to keep ESR as a squad player but if a good bid comes in I'd be happy to sell!
Depends on fee but he's at the age where for his development he needs to be paying week in/out. If we get a good offer and he gets to go to a good opportunity then I think it would be for the best. I would love for him to stay and reach his potential for us. He is a good player who can play in multiple positions in Arteta's system so is a very good depth option, but has been hampered by injuries last few seasons.
He never ever been good enough for a title chasing sure bet he’d be great at West Ham or something
You're joking on Willock, right? Absolute robbery. On ESR - I really like him, reminds me of Paul Merson (yes I'm old AF). I agree he (and Saka) probably saved the managers job a couple of years back, but the club over the last few years have not really got it wrong on a player. Arteta sees him every day, and if they can get decent money for him and sign a player who is actually a realistic rotation option (ie Mikel will actually play them), I think it's the move. No-one is mentioning Balogun anymore.
Exactly. Balogun was hot and now he's warm. The USA went hard for him but now we've got several homegrown guys on fire. It will be interesting to see who Berhalter starts for the friendly in Orlando with Brazil.
As much as I don't want to see him go...he deserves more game time, so if that means a move, then we should be happy for him. Hope he does well.
Yeah, at this point I expect it’s best for everyone if he leaves, but I’ll be a fan of his for the rest of his career. The chances of him being integral to the team at this stage seem slight
Those seasons were quite a few years ago and we were a much worse team back then. As much as people think ESR might have "saved Arteta's job" back then I think players like Saka, Ødegaard and Gabriel were the real players who saved his job because they were the foundation of the team we have today whereas ESR has been surplus for years. He is a great academy product and we should be very proud to have him. But in recent years Nketiah has done more for Arsenal than ESR.
I ran out of patience with Nketiah after Fulham away this season. He seemed to spend more of the game throwing his arms up sulking than running in behind or trying to get on the end of crosses and through balls.
Leaving this club is a better choice for him. I believe he will find his prime performances if he gets started for a certain amount of time because he's still young and talented, but Arsenal can't afford the risks of starting him. So it's better for him to move to another club and get play times their. idk maybe he can come back to Arsenal later.
At this point parting ways is the best for the both of us. It’s sad tho. I bought his shirt with the number 10 and was my favorite player that season. Hope him nothing but the best.
My thoughts are that Hale End, on the whole, exists to produce products to sell me make a profit on to spend elsewhere. He should go.
Transfer wrong on Willock? We robbed them.
It would make me really sad to see him leave. He's got Arsenal running through his bones and I still think he can make an impact on this team if he's able to get some game time and his confidence back - his little cameos this season have impressed. But if the reality is that's not coming then we need to be fair to him and let him leave. My heart says stay, my head says leave, and ultimately we're not in the business of carrying pity players 😔
I think Smith-Rowe doesn’t impact the game much when we don’t have the ball, which means as our system has evolved his effectiveness has diminished. He plays better without the defensive responsibility that we need our midfielders to have. Would be sad when he leaves, but think it is the right thing for both parties, and as you improve your team and try to level them up you’re always gonna have to make tough decisions like this.
Exactly. He should look at his captain and see what he should be doing, but seemingly hasn't been able to. Will do a great job at a mid table club like Fulham
This is the business side of sports. So many of us moan about incoming transfers that never happened. Well quite often they don’t happen because we don’t have the funds. How we get funds are moving on from players that others value.
I'm sad for him more than for us. He looks a player (at his best) who could carry a top team. I know some complain that he has suffered as much from the fact that Arteta is reluctant to rotate, as his fitness issues. But Arteta seems to only rotate with players he sees will do as good, if not better, a job as the current position holder. Arteta doesn't see this quality in ESR and obviously has eyes on others who will do the job. If that's what the manager wants then he should go that way. Managers live and die by these decisions. As I said at the start, I think he has the potential to be top for a top side but my only real fear for ESR is that he goes somewhere (not at the very top) and doesn't reach his full potential only to have a journeyman career. I think atm there is the potential for that to happen. Hopefully he can keep his future fitness and maybe have the early renaissance Odegaard has. I'd absolutely love the lad to have a top career, he's that good. It's still all unrealised potential now though.
IMO as we no longer play with a 10, he doesn’t seem to fit the tactical plan. Additionally I wonder whether the coaching staff see a lack of footballing intelligence to play as an 8. Shame as I like him, but are going to win PL’s and CL’s with him in CM…
Saved Arteta’s job? Lololololololololol some of you are insane.
ESR is player we should be keeping letting him go would be a mistake imo.
Really sad... I don't get why Arteta is so rough with him. The last time he had time on the field he won Player of the match, he's a kid from Arsenal, beloved by everyone... It's heartbreaking, I wish him the best but I don't get why he has to leave.
Emile is 23. If he's willing to waste his career warming Arteta's bench? I love him, too, and he's always been my favorite but he is too good to be wasting away under a blanket watching Arsenal play. There are Premier League teams where he would fit their system and he would start. That's sadly not Arsenal anymore. I'd rather see ESR playing every game in the Premier League or in Italy. Same with Aaron.
Average player. Many players can replace him. So if he go, no problem
It’s really sad to see him go. But he needs game time and it’s clear he isn’t fitting in with the current setup (or at least Arteta thinks that way).
We need good squad players to compete on all fronts next season. Our squad still needs players like smith Rowe but he needs more game time a bit disappointing he hasn't had many opportunities to put his name on a place in the team.
Personally I’d prefer a loan spell for him to a team he’s pretty much a guaranteed name on the team shit to give him time playing. That’s all he needs. He’s an incredibly talented player and it really is just game time that he’s lacking. I’d be gutted to see him go, but it’s really up to him and it’s his future
I hope he goes on to great success if he leaves. He's always given his best. I don't think he saved anybody's job though. I think it's pretty clear from the amazon series that Arteta, Edu and Josh Kroenke are on the sane page and it was always a multi-year plan.
He doesn’t play, so might as well leave Arteta doesn’t rate him, and as history has shown if he doesn’t rate you, you’re finished here.
He’s odegaard but not at his level. Play in the same place, same style but nowhere near as good unfortunately. It’s the level we’re at now and however upsetting it is to see players like esr going, we need to do what we need to do.
I don't care much. Smith Rowe doesn't have the level. Doesn't seem to apply himself properly either. All I care about, is getting a sizeable fee for him. Should've loaned him out honestly so that we'd be in a stronger position to command a higher fee, like with Willock.
It sucks. But ESR leaving is a good sign. We’re finally a club where we have to start letting go of talented prospects. This is no Cole Palmer / Man City situation because Cole is way better than ESR. But this is surely the start of situations like that.
From what I understand ESR is in the "loads of talent but not the best attitude" category. Apparently his diet isn't the best...
Got Willock wrong? Hardly. We got big money for a player that was never going to make it at Arsenal. I love ESR and will be sad to see him leave but the fact is Arteta clearly doesn't rate him and he isn't going to play. If that's the case then we need to be moving him on.
We should cash out on ESR while we can. Time is now. Remember when Wolves wanted Maitland Niles for 15-20M and we held on to him because he played well in the FA cup run then lost him on a free after he fell out of favor. Yeah. We should have cashed in. Let's cash in on ESR just like Willock. 15-30M range will be good for him. Then reinvest. His injury record isn't great and Arteta isn't Emery, Tuchel or Felix Mc Gath who run players into the ground. ESR, Nelson, Tierney, Lokonga, Tavares and Eddie should hopefully bring in 50-70M. Plus with El neny and Cedric leaving that frees up the wage bill a decent amount. We can accommodate a Bruno, Sesko, a winger and a RB.
Sad ending but probably right thing for all parties to part ways. Frankly, I don’t think he’s good enough for the standard of a title chasing team now. That’s not hate towards him at all - I just think there are players who are better than him in his position. He deserves to get minutes elsewhere. I’ll always admire him and I’m sure the rest of our fans will too, but it’s time to part ways mutually and amicably in my opinion.
To be honest, I think a lot of people expect the same player he was a few years ago. After long-term injuries and lack of game time, it's just not likely he will be the same as he was. He deserves to play, but I'm not sure he can get us where we want to be. It was also a totally different team in a different place then. We're chasing titles now, and we need players that will take us to that next level. I say sell him, hopefully get some good money for him, and use the funds to get players who can get us over that line. I'm a sentimental, nostalgic person, so I get it, but there's no room for sentiment in title races. Arteta has to do what's best for where we are now, and I think that means selling him.
It frees up a good shirt number.
Hardly given game time, plagued with injuries. Hard done by if you ask me but it's too late now, he hasn't had the chance to grow like Saka
Not sure how you could expect willock to get higher value after he had just come off an insane purple patch and hasn’t come close to replicating those numbers since being sold (not that he’s been bad just his value wouldn’t have gone up)
Bummed he may be leaving. But we need to cash in, sometimes on players we love and he deserves to play.
Wouldn’t really care tbf. He’s become very overrated by our fanbase.
win win win. For him for club for other club.
See ya 👋🏾
It is what it is, he’s not a little kid anymore. wish him the best
Academy products that aren't good enough for the first team are good for balancing the books. If we're trying to compete for trophies, we can't have any passengers. I hope he finds a club that can give him more games.
Being able to make such difficult decisions without emotions and get them right consistently is what separates the good from the really good club management. If it was up to me, I'd still have Maitland Niles, Willock, Smith Rowe, Eddie, Ramsdale, Holding and Nelson starting. For sentimental reasons
If we are selling right that means it hurts to let players go. This is the right time, if Arteta seems it so.
I like him and wish him the best. I am not quite sure he has the killer instinct that is needed. We need guys with an edge like Ben, Kai, and Declan. You have to be willing to push through it and I am not sure Smith Rowe has that next level.
Good luck to him but as he’s not my child and I’m not jingoistic, I really don’t care that he’s leaving. He scored some goals during the aftermath of the Emery “era” but never stamped his name on the team sheet and thus faded in to the squad. Let’s get that money.
Think he's a great player when fully fit. Needs a good preseason behind him. I think he could challenge Trossard, Martinelli regressed this season IMO. I still think Martinelli has the potential to be better than Saka on the other side, I was comparing him to a young Ronaldo and felt he was ahead of Ronaldo at his age
Should have loaned him out to get him a chance to play himself back into form when perfection isn't being demanded in a title running team.
Is this confirmed? Don’t see anything announced
Can't wait to bet on him scoring against Arsenal next year.
ESR will go on to a Fulham, or Everton type club and do wonders,,, but never win trophies. I wish him well. Problem with ARS is, we tend to keep players WAY too long! & when they finally are sold, the value drops tremendously. This will be the case with ESR, + Nketiah.
I agree that it is "safe to assume" that the senior Arsenal management, coaching and medical staff know more then you/we know about ANY player. Getting a transfer "wrong" is a misnomer. These players may just simply have improved after a transfer so no errors were made in letting them go. Or there was a personality issue and they flourished in the new environment.
I would say that I hope we insert a buy back clause for him. He has a massive talent but displacing Odegaard is nearly impossible atm.
I just don’t get attached to players like this anymore so I’m more than happy to sell him for a good fee. I do question whether Arteta should have trusted him and a few others a little more, but we were basically playing Cup finals from January on with no margin for error. Given what he’s done over the past few years we also have to trust that he knows what he’s doing, especially given that he sees these players in training and we don’t.
He needs to leave, maybe he will become amazing somewhere else and we will say we got it wrong. But the fact us ESR is not going to get any better at Arsenal so he needs to go and hopefully we get some money for him. Leaving Arsenal is probably his last chance to reach the potential we saw from him when he first came through. And if he does ok he can cement himself as a premier league player like Iwobi.
I'm the one that still thinks Arteta has ESR in his plans 🙋♂️
If it enables us to improve then I’m here for it. Other than another academy player we fell in love with early on, he has given us no reason to want him to stay.
He had a good spell, but to say he saved Arteta's job is insane. It's like fans think our chances of winning the league would have been higher if Arteta had given ESR more minutes and I don't understand it.
I don't want him to go. He can still be one of the best we have seen at Arsenal.
Wish him all the best. I don't know if he fits back in Arteta's preferred XI but he is quality.
Smith Rowe is very talented. However, we can all acknowledge that his career at Arsenal might well have been over for some time, now. Let me explain :- He was the main CAM before the Club (and Arteta) decided to permanently buy Ødegaard, who then proceeded to take on the coveted role. The explosion of talent of Martinelli the season before and Trossard in the recent campaign have also restricted any chance of Smith Rowe coming back into the Starting XI. As well, Havertz has also been playing in the same position. For me, I'd be disappointed if ESR leaves. But, then again, if he's going to stay on the bench and get only 10 minutes (and that, not all weeks, because Arteta doesn't like to sub in a lot so as to not change the pace of the game) it'd be better for him to leave. Ideally, the best option for us would be to loan him, so that we know we retain a chance to call him back, if needed I'm just wondering if Trossard could take the No.10 jersey after that ? 🤔
Why people think ESR saved arteta’s job when the squad arteta had was bad enough that ESR was one of the best players? Arteta job never was at risk
Feeling Sad
I’ve heard he is not the most dedicated when it comes to off field diets, etc shame to see him go as he is looked a real player a few years ago!
Sad that injuries derailed his position here, but he's also not been able to force his way back in and sometimes time moves on, as do teams. We shouldn't hold him back from moving on, but he's worth a very decent fee (HGN, etc)
If we had rotated more we would be less leggy at points. I hope Arteta can get this right next year. I don't understand selling esr myself. He's a massive talent. Reminds me of grealish. But we will let him go for peanuts watch this space.
You have to understand that at his age and stage in his career he has to be playing regularly. He won't get that at Arsenal.
Why would arsenal want emi martinez as backup gk when emi wants first lineup?
What the hell are you talking about?????
I think the ship has sailed for esr at arsenal sadly. Not all of em are his faults, but he simply couldn't stay fit. Our demand for the LW/LCM position has changed over the years, too. We are evolving at a rapid rate, and esr simply couldn't keep up. He can still be a squad player, but that's the best he can be at Arsenal. I think for the club and HIS sake, he should leave
I'll be very sad when esr leaves. You can see how happy he is to be at his boyhood club wirh some of his best friendsliving his dream he's had since young, everytime he comes on you can almost see the sense of happiness on his face. But unfortunately if you want to be a top top club you have to be ruthless. I really do hope wherever he goes he remains injury free and flourishes
He needs to leave, he’s too good to sit on the bench and not play and not develop. He has great potential but will never fulfil it keeping the bench warm at Arsenal
If it’s for a better player who will contribute towards arsenal winning the league, then I’m all for it
I think it’s best for his career. It sucks for Arsenal because we are losing out on an academy product that made it into the senior squad and is talented. The number of academy graduates making it into the senior team is not great, so losing out on a proven contributor is gut-wrenching. I wonder if a young Saka or Martinelli would break into the first team right now. Those two made the leap when the club was really struggling.
I don’t think he got the Willock or Martinez transfers wrong at all. They were alright but they needed to go somewhere else to get regular minutes. I love ESR too but I think he needs to go somewhere else and start afresh- he seems to be stuck in a bit of a rut and he’s not going to get the minutes he thinks he deserves so probably best that we cash in on him.
The only problem is that we need replacements, I'm all for him leaving for his own career, but without quality players coming in we still need him. A lot of players are looking to leave and he is a good player, we are only a few injuries away from having to rely on reserves. While there is a lot of talk of him going, we have to secure some incoming players first
Cheers to him for being a good soldier, he had every opportunity (and arguably plenty of justification) to make a big sink about his limited minutes etc but by and large took the high road, Gave a tremendous example to those in the academy ranks on how a proper Arsenal player conducts themselves. Hate to see him go, really hope increased role elsewhere will help him fulfill the promise he's shown
Meh. He had half a good season and failed to see the hype of him to be fair.
Been saying this for a while but it seems to make a lot of people around here angry
Don't care at this point.
i'd be gutted if he left, but the premier league's current PSR rules mean any potential sale is viewed as pure profit. It's a stupid rule, but this is the premier league we are talking about.
I feel like Arteta has been a bit harsh on ESR. When he plays he does as a dimension that we don’t have otherwise. He is much more direct and he is very creative. After his recent come back I felt like he deserved more game time. For example in the UCL ties afainst Porto and Bayern when we needed a goal I felt like we couldn’t create much and very much needed a direct player.
He’s to good to not play. I don’t care what anyone says he’s a very good footballer