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| Emile Smith Rowe of Arsenal looks dejected following the team's defeat during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium on May 14, 2023 in London, England. |
Kevin Campbell has backed Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to sell Emile Smith Rowe in order to sign Wolves winger, Pedro Neto, and Brentford striker, Ivan Toney.
Arsenal’s Hale-End star is a very popular player with the fans, but as Campbell pointed out, at times, you have to make ‘ruthless’ calls in order to win, as he told The Highbury Squad.
Mikel Arteta wants to win the Premier League title, at any cost, and surely, if you asked the most ardent and die-hard Arsenal fan, they would happily sell Emile Smith Rowe during the January transfer window in order for that to happen.
Of course, this isn’t a case of the 23-year-old just leaving, but Ivan Toney, who is currently serving a ban, and Wolves flyer Pedro Neto, moving the other way.
It has been well-documented that Arsenal want Ivan Toney, his current ban will end on January 16, which gives the powers that be at the Emirates an ample chance to get him on board.
And with Bukayo Saka providing a recent injury scare, then Pedro Neto’s name has also popped up in the transfer rumour mill as someone who can come in and provide much-needed depth in quality.
Arsenal to sell Smith Rowe?
“For us to get Toney and Neto, would we sell ESR (Smith Rowe),” asked Campbell. “I would have to. And that’s the key. I would have to because, I know the feeling and stuff, but we want to win now.
“He’s not going to go out on loan again, and rightfully so, because he is an established first-team player.
“Sometimes we have to cut the cord and we have to be ruthless in the sense that, if I am going to get this player in and that player in, especially in January, then we have to be able to move and shake a little bit differently.
“And we might have to get somebody out in order to bring somebody in.”
Arsenal Premier League title dreams
The quality is there. The goals. The spine. And the defensive qualities. But that bit of edge and depth is needed.
That’s where the likes of Toney and Neto come into the picture. Arsenal will be in the title race come January and it will be interesting to see how the club reacts when that period of the season comes about.
Last January, they wanted Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk, but failed to get both.
But that proved that they were willing to push the boat out, so don’t be surprised if they do the same again.