Ex-Arsenal midfielder sounds serious Smith Rowe warning

The talented 20-year-old is said to be entertaining an offer for a move away from the Emirates.

Arsenal could lose Emile Smith Rowe and “so many players” if they don’t prove their ambition by bolstering their squad this summer, warns Emmanuel Petit.

Arsenal are set to miss out on European football in the coming season after finishing at eighth place in the Premier League season in 2020-21.

For a ‘top-six team’ that had the worst start to a league campaign since 1974 last time out and are preparing for a purely domestic season for the first time in 25 years, the Gunners seem slow in the transfer market.

Should Mikel Arteta fail to make significant additions to his ranks, he could see the likes of experienced players and young ones alike start searching for greener pastures.

“Emile Smith Rowe is not stupid,” started Petit, who won a Premier League and FA Cup double with Arsenal in 1997-98, speaking to Metro.

“He will be looking at guys like Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish enjoying their football with the national team, all smiling on the pitch and very relaxed with the pressure and the ambitions of their clubs and the national team. Smith Rowe will want to be the same.

“He will have had some questions in his mind and I hope Arsenal gave him the answers he was expecting in terms of the transfer market and ambitions for next season.

“If this season is the same season we’ve seen from Arsenal for the last couple of years, forget it. They’re going to lose so many players at the end of the season.”