Every player has his price…what is Emile Smith Rowe’s?

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At some point Aston Villa might make a high enough bid that Arsenal sit their and think “wow, we need to accept that”.

According to David Ornstein, Arsenal have rejected an offering in the region of £30million for Emile Smith Rowe.

That is already huge money for a lad who has started just 19 Premier League games.

What is clear is that Aston Villa are trying to get in replacements for Jack Grealish prior to selling him.

They have already spent big on Emi Buendia from Norwich, and their pursuit of Smith Rowe shows that they are looking to replace Grealish with 2 rather than one.

So how high will Villa be willing to go for Smith Rowe? And will it be high enough?

Smith Rowe was a breath of fresh air last season. His work rate, creativity and attitude, alongside Bukayo Saka, was one of the few positives from a tough season.

But what is also clear is that he is probably not yet ready to play week in week out as Arsenal’s 10.

We bought in Martin Odergaard in January and the pair shared the role. It is likely this summer we will make a permanent signing in that position.

You would expect whoever comes in to be first choice, with Smith Rowe becoming his understudy.

Smith Rowe will still get plenty of play time – and his versatility will be an asset; but at what point do those in charge of Arsenal think to themselves “that is too much money to turn down for a 2nd string player”.

Say Villa bid £40million for Smith Rowe. Arsenal could probably replace him with someone from Europe for half of that. And what if the bid reaches £50million? Or beyond?

That sort of money would finance a move for someone like Houssem Aouar, who is a level above Smith Rowe. We would get change out of the deals leaving us even more money to add further creativity.

To make it clear, I would not want us to sell Smith Rowe. But we would be crazy to turn down that sort of money for a bit-part player with potential.

Every player has his price; I wonder what Smith Rowe’s is…

Keenos

Bukayo Saka is the blueprint Arteta and Edu need to recruit

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A signature of Arsene Wenger’s recruitment was not only buying young, talented players but also focusing what was between the ears.

Wenger wound look to bring in youngsters who were intelligent and keen to learn.

You can have all the talent in the world, but if you are not interested in listening to coaches, following instruction, learning, you will not develop.

Bukayo Saka would have been a perfect recruit for Wenger. And he is the mould of player we need to be recruiting to improve the side.

Saka is an intelligent kid. Straight A student. He is a keen student of the game.

You get the feeling he is one of those that would sit at the front of the class. Always attentive. Always listening. Wanting to learn.

He is also a very humble kid.

You never see him involved in high-jinks or believing himself to be above his station. He does not really have much of a social media presence. None of those silly tweets we see others do.

You get the feeling Emile Smith Rowe is cut from a similar cloth.

Compare the pair to Matteo Guendouzi.

Trouble has followed Guendouzi everywhere he has gone.

He reportedly struggles to follow instruction and has a bit of an ego. An attitude.

If Saka was sat at the front of the class, Guendouzi was at the back. The class joker. Making fart noises when the teacher bent over.

Guendouzi’s school report would be “has the ability but lacks focus.”

Where Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba fit in I do not know.

When it comes to young players, their willingness to learn is just as equal as their natural ability.

For many, it is their natural ability that got them through the academy system. But those players that make it the very top – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas – have the intelligence and work ethic alongside natural ability.

More players like Saka, less like Guendouzi and we will be in a good place.

Keenos

Could 17 senior players really leave Arsenal this summer?

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Bernd Leno has been linked away from the club this summer.

The German keeper has only been at Arsenal for 3 years, but has reportedly indicated he will not like to extend his stay in London beyond his current contract.

The result is Arsenal might look to cash in this summer before his value plummets next.

Arsenal’s only other senior keeper Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson could also see his stay at Arsenal be extremely short.

The Icelandic keeper was a surprise signing last summer and looked extremely amateurish in his handful of Europa League games. Arsenal will surely look to move in on – either permanently or loan – as they potentially pursue two new keepers.

Hector Bellerin has been a great servant to the club since joining the academy a decade ago. But it feels like a natural time for Arsenal and the Cockney-Spaniard to part ways.

A move could reignite his stagnating career and provide key funds for Arsenal to buy someone better.

Also potentially out the door is Calum Chambers

Chambers came into the first team for a bit as Arteta rotated him in against teams who dominated for corners. He performed well.

But with Arsenal on the look out for a new first choice right back and right sided centre half, time might have finally come for Chambers to seek permeant first team football elsewhere.

Moving into centre back,  David Luiz has already left the club. And reports are that William Saliba might find himself playing for someone other than Arsenal next year.

Signed with great fanfare 2 summers ago, Saliba spent his first year with the club on loan at St Etienne. Last year he joined Nice for the 2nd half of the season.

There is clearly something there that those at Arsenal and France do not like = he does not even get called up to his countries U21 team.

The only question seems to be whether Saliba will leave Arsenal on loan or permanently?

With a new centre back on the horizon, Konstantinos Mavropanos will also likely leave the club.

The Greek defender looked good in a handful of performances a couple of years ago but has since spent a lot of time out injured.

Last year he joined VfB Stuttgart on loan, and a decent offer around £10million will probably be enough for Arsenal to part ways with him.

Sead Kolasinac is still an Arsenal player.

The Bosnian left back joined Schalke on loan in January, but the deal was not made permanent following their relegation.

Arsenal are in the market for a back-up to Kieran Tierney. Kolasinac will have plenty of admirers in the Bundesliga.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles began the season in Gareth Southgate’s England squad. He ended it missing out on selection and getting relegated with WBA.

His performances for WBA showed he was Premier League class, but probably not the level Arsenal need. Will generate good funds.

Fellow Englishman Joe Willock performed well for Newcastle with 8 goals in a short loan spell. Arsenal might be tempted to keep him, but a bid in excess of £25million would probably be enough for the club to cash in.

On loan last season, Lucas Torreira has been linked with a move to Lazio.

He has never really settled in England and also struggled to make an impact with Atletico Madrid last season. Arsenal will be lucky to recoup half of the £23million they spent on the Uruguayan 3 seasons ago.

Matteo Guendouzi is another who went out on loan and will unlikely return to the first team.

Issues at L’Orient, Arsenal and Hertha Berlin highlight the problem is not just “Mikel Arteta’s”.

Guendouzi risks wasting his talent as trouble continues to follow him around.

Like Bellerin, long term servant Granit Xhaka could also find his Arsenal journey come to an end with reports that Jose Mourinho fancies him at Roma.

Arteta is clearly looking to rebuild the central midfield, and targeting the likes of Yves Bissouma and Sambi Lokonga, it is clear power and pace is what he wants. Xhaka just does not fit the bill.

Willian signed a 3-year-deal with Arsenal last summer but has reportedly told the club he wants to leave – with the MLS being a likely destination. No one will be sad to see him go.

Reiss Nelson is someone who has struggled to make the transition from talented youth product to senior star.

When you compare his trajectory to Bukayo Saka, one he kicked on and the other has not.

You feel Nelson has reached his peak, and that is not good enough for Arsenal.

Fellow English youth team player Eddie Nketiah might also find his time at Arsenal is over – with him moving aside to allow the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Florian Balogun to come through.

Nketiah is now 22 and like with so many of the English contingent, would raise a decent amount of money.

Finally, with a year left on his contract, Alexandre Lacazette might leave Arsenal this summer.

Various managers have tried and failed to shoehorn Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang into the same time. Selling Lacazette this summer and reinvesting his funds in some creativity feels an intelligent move.

Arsenal would then have Aubameyang down the middle, backed up by Martinelli and Balogun.

17 players would be huge in terms of squad turnover. But we know last season Arsenal had an inflated squad.

Shifting all 17 would leave Arsenal with just 13 senior players.

It would probably lead to Arsenal needing to make 9 new senior signings, and then promote a couple of youth players to the first team.

Watch this space…

Keenos