Eddie Nketiah and Alex Iwobi left blown away by £34m player who Arsenal just sold

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Arsenal made the decision to sell some of their most cherished players this summer, Hale-Enders who were so popular with the N5 faithful.

Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe both left Arsenal in permanent moves, as well as Aaron Ramsdale who almost felt homegrown such was his quick bond with the club and its fans.

Edu and Mikel Arteta decided it was time to put emotion aside and offload several faces who simply weren’t playing enough minutes.

And in that respect, selling Nketiah and Smith Rowe were both obvious moves – two players not receiving the opportunities that their talent deserved.

Of course both have already been thriving at their new London-based homes, in particular Smith Rowe at Fulham.

Arsenal recouped £34m when selling Smith Rowe to Fulham, a player who may now be perfect to substitute for Martin Odegaard whilst injured.

Arsenal might regret their decision to sell Emile Smith Rowe

As mentioned, Arsenal’s decision to sell Smith Rowe was the right one at time, it would have been unfair to deny the ‘Croydon De Bruyne’ a fresh start.

However, with Odegaard now missing for a substantial period, Smith Rowe would be primed for that number ten role. 

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Instead, Smith Rowe scored his second Premier League goal of the season for Fulham yesterday – a performance he later celebrated on Instagram.

The former Arsenal man uploaded a post with a caption of: “Important 3 points today at the cottage”, along with two pictures from the win against Newcastle United.

Both Nketiah and another former Arsenal favourite Alex Iwobi replied, clearly delighted to see Smith Rowe thriving during his new challenge.

Nketiah will feel a particular affinity with Smith Rowe, both leaving in the same summer, leaving two goat emojis on his post.

Fabio Vieira loan decision also now in question

Of course, it also now seems slightly odd that Arsenal decided to loan out Fabio Vieira this season.

Before the summer began, it was thought that either Vieira or Smith Rowe would leave the Emirates Stadium, not both.

Perhaps Mikel Merino’s arrival altered that decision, but the Gunners still allowed a lot of creativity to leave the club.

Vieira could have been the perfect candidate to replace Odegaard, who has been waiting for his big chance in north London.

However, after returning to FC Porto in Portugal, it perhaps now seems hard to imagine that Vieria will have a significant future under Arteta, a player who was often injured at the wrong time.