SETTABLOID

Sometimes football can be a cruel game and when you’re looking to play at the highest level, with some of the best teams in the world, making the cut can be almost impossible and considering how many young players from academies just don’t make it, it’s a hard industry to be in and can be heart breaking from some young lads looking to come up into first team football.

Eberechi Eze, who was let go from Arsenal’s academy when he was just a teenager but has recently been killing it for Crystal Palace in the Premier League. He has really made a name for himself now and has now been called up to the England provisional squad for the Euro’s. It looks like he has found a spot in Gareth Southgate’s side.

The 25-year-old midfielder was asked in a press conference before England’s friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina where they walked away 3-0 winners, how it felt the day he was released from Arsenal and said this “I was 13 when I was released. That was the worst one. I remember crying in my room for a solid week, my mum telling me that it’s going to be OK but not being able to get over it. Then I went to Fulham and I was finally starting to enjoy my football again.”

“We played Arsenal a few months later but, when I went over to shake the academy manager’s hand, I started welling up. All the feelings came back. My dream was to play for Arsenal so hearing them say no at 13 that was tough and I remember like training after I got released and I couldn’t focus.”

was crying but I think that helped me so much in the other rejections because if I can get through Arsenal releasing me I can get through any other club releasing me. My mindset was if it was not going to be Arsenal I have to find somewhere else.”

Watching the way Eze has been able to overcome the heartbreak of being released is massive, not many players end up getting past that stage and back into playing football and as the transfer window is opening, we now are set to let a lot of our youth go and it seems like some what of a vicious cycle from afar.

Of course it does pull on the heart strings a bit when you think about all those young players who couldn’t make it at Arsenal but went on to overcome the rejection to still make it somewhere else, like a certain Harry Kane as well as Eze..

Arsenal want ‘around £25million’ for Emile Smith Rowe with London rivals Fulham interested in signing him this summer, according to reports.

Smith Rowe has only started three Premier League matches in the last two seasons, dramatically falling down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta after a superb 2021/22 campaign.

The England midfielder scored 10 goals and made two assists in 33 top-flight appearances in 21/22, with his last goal in the competition coming against Chelsea in April 2022.

He also earned his first senior international cap in November 2021 but has not played for his country since a 28-minute cameo in a friendly against Ivory Coast the following March.

With minutes very hard to come by at Arsenal, there has been a lot of talk surrounding Smith Rowe’s future.

Fulham keen on signing £25m Arsenal outcast

It was reported last week that the 23-year-old is Fulham’s ‘priority’ target in the summer transfer window and Gunners transfer expert Charles Watts reckons he will cost ‘around £25m’.

Writing in his CaughtOffside column, Watts admitted that Smith Rowe is ‘expected’ to leave the Londoners this summer and ‘there is plenty of interest in him, both from clubs in the Premier League and abroad’.

Meanwhile, Watts says Arsenal are unlikely to pursue West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus after being unable to afford his signing from Ajax last summer.

Arsenal will have to ward off the attention of Chelsea in their pursuit of highly-rated RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko, TEAMtalk can confirm.

Chelsea are on the hunt for a new star striker but they are not alone in their desire to bring in a new number nine. It is the key position in this window for plenty of clubs and Arsenal are set to battle the Blues for one of the market’s hottest names.

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Sesko is seen as one of the best young talents in Europe at the moment and his profile suits Chelsea. His agents have been in contact with Blues chiefs again over the past 48 hours and momentum is now building for a bid to be placed, TEAMtalk can reveal.

Sesko has a release clause of around £55million and has been one of the key names on the list for Arsenal this summer.

Sources maintain that the Gunners are still in a strong position for the 21-year-old, and TEAMtalk has learned that he has been impressed with the project being built at the Emirates.

Arsenal the favourites to sign new Chelsea target

There is a belief inside Arsenal that they are a quality forward away from beating Manchester City to the Premier League title. There is also a desire to not overspend this summer and the release clause that the RB Leipzig man has is very attractive because of this.

Leipzig want to hold onto him for another season and have tried to give him a better deal with a higher release clause. However, the chances of him agreeing to that are very low as his representatives are working tirelessly to bring him to the Premier League.

Manchester United are also ones to watch and have been in contact to find out their chances of landing the Slovenian international. They are not seen as strong a prospect at the moment with much heavier work being done by the two London sides.

Paris Saint-Germain are also keen, while Bayern Munich have hosted his agents at multiple games this season. Some sources have stated that Bayern are in a strong position, but Sesko wants to play regularly and he would have to deputise for Harry Kane if he moved to the Allianz Arena.

Sesko played a full 90 minutes on just four occasions in the most recent Bundesliga campaign and the feeling is that he needs to start regularly to take the next step in his career.

All clubs want to sign world-class players with a winning mentality and a footballing CV which boasts some of the elite honours in the sport. Arsenal have been a side lacking this for many years, but have gradually added more experience to the side and the impact on the club’s competitiveness in terms of the title race has been obvious for all to see.

That said, for the past two seasons they have fallen short of lifting the fabled Premier League title despite outperforming most people’s expectations . Many feel that the club needs yet more players with the experience of winning the biggest honours to do this.

However, as the club pushes to sign a young striker in Benjamin Sesko, many are questioning if this is the right move. The summer market is expected to be a busy one for Arsenal, and there is seemingly a focus on younger stars who can add depth to several positions like the Slovenian striker.

The idea that title-winning experience is the difference for Arsenal raises several questions because a glaring hypocrisy emerges without clarity. Two players whose futures are not assured at Arsenal this summer are Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The latter in particular has lost his place to Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu while Jurrien Timber’s recovery means yet another will be battling out for a starting role. Both Zinchenko and Jesus were signed in 2022 from Manchester City having won several Premier League titles with the club.

Is this not the experience that some fans are after? If so, why is it okay for one or both of these to leave? Surely Arsenal would be losing players with the knowledge of how to win the league?

Not to forget that when Kai Havertz arrived, the move was widely criticised and fans were not convinced that the club had invested well – thankfully the German’s form would prove all the doubters wrong. But do not forget, Havertz arrived as a player with a Champions League medal only secured thanks to his goal in the final against Man City.

He followed Jorginho to the club too, another player whose move again was not exactly received with jubilation by the most vocal of fans. Jorginho not so long ago had been nominated for the Ballon d’Or after winning both the Champions League and European Championships in the same summer.

It is a bonus if Arsenal sign players who have ,won the biggest of trophies but what matters most is their individual quality, how seamlessly they fit into the plans of Mikel Arteta and that they share the desire of the side to win more honours. The experience of winning the elite trophies is one thing; being able to deliver them in north London is something else entirely.

Arsenal’s confirmed wave of first exits this summer has been released publicly. In announcing the club’s retained list, a wide-ranging group from youngsters to first-team outcasts have been let go.

They are in full: Mauro Bandeira, Omari Benjamin, Luis Brown, Catalin Cirjan, Noah Cooper, Sabrina D’Angelo, Henry Davies, Ovie Ejeheri, Mohamed Elneny, Taylor Foran, Hubert Graczyk, James Hillson, Henry Jeffcott, Tyreece John-Jules, Alex Kirk, James Lannin-Sweet, Kaylan Marckese, Vivianne Miedema, Arthur Okonkwo, Kamarni Ryan, Cedric Soares and Kido Taylor-Hart.

There are some left to be finalised, but it has opened the door now for more to follow from the senior squad when the transfer window finally gets going in under two weeks. That is when business time really kicks in.

Taking a look at some of the other reports around Arsenal and the Emirates Stadium, football.london has the latest.

Squad player interest

Fulham are interested in signing Eddie Nketiah this summer, according to reports, with Crystal Palace and Wolves also said to be monitoring the forward. Fellow Hale End graduate Emile Smith Rowe is also being linked with a move away as the Evening Standard write that Arsenal will listen to offers for the player.

Aaron Ramsdale and Kieran Tierney are also up for sale too. It comes with the Gunners looking to overhaul their squad in a bid to raise funds for possible big-money signings as well as aiming to remain compliant with Premier League financial rules.

Arthur Okonkwo and Cedric Soares are among the players who will leave Arsenal this summer as the Gunners bid farewell to a number of men’s and academy scholars. Mikel Arteta faces another massive summer as he looks to provide the North London club with an extra boost to see them over the line ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool.

Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice and David Raya proved to be pivotal signings in the transfer market but Arsenal couldn’t end their wait for top-flight success after City’s win on the final day of the campaign sealed a fourth successive triumph. On Monday, the Gunners hit the headlines after it was revealed that 22 players would be released at the end of the season, including men’s players and scholars plus three women’s players.

This past Premier League campaign was dominated by Profit and Sustainability after Everton and Nottingham Forest were sanctioned for financial breaches. The Toffees were found guilty of two charges which saw them deducted a total of eight points, after their initial 10-point deduction was reduced to six.

Forest, meanwhile, saw their points total reduced to four points but they narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship as Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United were relegated. Figures released for the year ending May 31, 2023 showed the club suffered a £52million loss while matchday and broadcast revenues increased with the help of their Champions League qualification.

Despite the negative digits in the records, Arsenal remained in line with the profit and sustainability regulations as clubs are allowed to make a loss of £105million over a three-year period. Although, there are some repercussions for the losses and Arsenal still have some academy graduates in their squad who, if sold, could bank the club profit and alleviate the strain of the regulations.

Arteta could utilise some of the players on the fringes as an option to boost the budget for this summer. City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United will all be looking to strengthen while the Gunners have targets and areas for reinforcements of their own.

Albert Sambi Lokonga is a player that has emerged in the conversation in recent weeks following his comments after a successful spell at Luton Town. The Belgian’s future seemingly lies away from the Emirates Stadium after a difficult spell in North London.

Bayern Munich are reportedly among the clubs interested in the 24-year-old but the cards could be with the Gunners as he has two years remaining on his current deal.

Lokonga has already expressed his intentions to leave the club this summer, speaking recently he said: “For me, I had a discussion with Arsenal and the conclusion was the best thing for me was to leave the club.

“So now it’s up to my agent and the club to find something. I still have a contract there, one year plus a one-year option so let’s see what happens.”

London Colney academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe was reduced to just 13 Premier League appearances this term. Injuries and competition within the squad consigned him to just three starts in the English top-flight.

The Telegraph reported last week that London club Fulham have made the attacking midfielder a transfer priority this summer. It has been said that the 23-year-old has been identified by Marco Silva as the candidate to bolster their attacking options.

In the report, it claims that Arsenal will listen to offers for fringe players with Aaron Ramsdale and Eddie Nketiah said to be looking for first-team football. Transfermarkt has valued the midfielder at £18million but with two years remaining on his current deal, he could land the Gunners large profit.

Thomas Partey is also among the list of players who could leave the club this summer. Partey has attracted rumours from Turkey with the likes of Galatasaray and Fenerbahce among the clubs interested in his services.

The 30-year-old has one year remaining on his deal which presents Arsenal with the opportunity to cash-in or risk losing him on a free transfer next summer. Saudi Arabian clubs have also been mooted which could attract a sizeable fee.

Arsenal have been repeatedly linked with strikers in recent months with attacking reinforcements set to dominate the transfer landscape in North London this summer. Gabriel Jesus hasn’t managed to solidify a place in the Arsenal squad and has endured difficulties since moving from Man City.

The Brazilian has fallen down the pecking order as a result of competition upfront and recurring injuries for the 27-year-old. Jesus has three years remaining on his deal but Arsenal could look to offload the profligate attacker and cash-in to allow themselves to compete financially for their attacking targets.

Nketiah, as mentioned in The Telegraph, could be off in search of regular football. The forward had a strong start to the campaign, starting nine of the first 11 Premier League matches – scoring a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Sheffield United. However, he soon fell down the pecking order and was used as an impact substitute.

The 25-year-old was named as an unused substitute for each of the last five Premier League matches. For years, the Englishman was destined to play elsewhere until he established himself as a good option for Arteta. However with three years remaining on his contract and his Three Lions hopes diminishing, Nketiah’s future would be best served away from North London which could land Arsenal with profit due to his homegrown status.

Raya’s arrival posed fresh competition between the sticks for Aaron Ramsdale. The England goalkeeper overtook Bernd Leno in the goalkeeping ranks at Arsenal and proved to be a fine shot-stopper but the 26-year-old was susceptible to criticism for his mistakes.

Unlike Nketiah, despite his lack of gametime, Ramsdale has retained his place in the England set-up. However, if he wants to stake his claim to usurp Jordan Pickford, he will need to earn first-team minutes but with the emergence of Raya, he will find opportunities few and far between at the Emirates Stadium.

With that being said, reports have emerged that Newcastle are among the clubs interested in the shot-stopper. Valued around £21million, with two years remaining on his contract, if Arsenal are looking to sell Ramsdale, they will be looking to earn in excess of the £30million they bought him for from Sheffield United.

Arsenal are prepared to push for the signing of Fenerbahce defender Ferdi Kadioglu, according to Turkish outlet Star Gazetesi.

The Gunners have been constantly linked with the Turkey international over the past month and a recent report claimed that there is an agreement over personal terms.

Arsenal have reportedly ‘strongly’ emerged as a potential suitor to sign Barcelona star Mikayil Faye this summer, as per the Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

It is an open secret that after failing to win the Premier League title this season, the Gunners are set to remain busy in the upcoming transfer window to reinforce the squad in order to bridge the gap with Manchester City.

Strengthening the number nine position and the engine room is reportedly Mikel Arteta’s priority. But signing a new left-sided defender is seemingly also on his wish-list as Jakub Kiwior has been linked with a move away from the club in recent weeks. Jorrel Hato and Ferdi Kadioglu have been suggested as potential targets but Faye is now emerging as a new key option.

According to the report by Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich have all expressed their interest in signing him, but Arsenal have ‘strongly’ emerged as a potential suitor ‘in recent hours’.

The report further claims that Faye wants to remain at Barcelona and flourish his career there, but he has now become frustrated as he wasn’t given the opportunity to play first-team football in the recently concluded season.

Faye to Arsenal

So, the Spanish outlet states that the Senegal international could be open to leaving Barcelona and if that were to be the case then Arsenal could manage to secure his signature this summer.

Having joined the Catalan giants last summer, Faye still has three years left in his current contract so Barcelona are likely to demand a sizeable amount of money to sell their star asset in the upcoming window.

Faye has burst onto the scene after displaying promising performances for Barcelona Atletic and as a result of that, he has secured his place in the Senegal national team.

The 19-year-old is a left-footed defender and is quick. In addition, he is strong, good in the air, comfortable playing out from the back and efficient in defensive contributions.

So, he possesses the qualities to flourish at the highest level in future. However, he is still very young and needs time to develop his career but considering Arsenal will be hoping to challenge on all fronts next season, they would be better off exploring more established options to reinforce their backline this summer.