Aston Villa keen to sign Arsenal star after previously failing to sign him

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe is still a target for Aston Villa, according to a report.

The young midfielder has been linked with a move away from the club this month and Aston Villa could be his possible future destination.

TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook has told GiveMeSport that the midfielder, who Aston Villa failed to sign in 2021, is still a target for the club.

The Premier League club made previous offers of £25m and £30m to sign the English midfielder, however, the Gunners rejected both those offers and extended Smith Rowe’s contract at the club.

Villa have remained interested ever since, and it appears that they would still consider a transfer should Arsenal make Smith Rowe available.

Unai Emery’s high-flying Villa are not the only club looking at Smith Rowe. The Athletic has reported that Newcastle United are also monitoring the midfielder, with West Ham also showing interest in him previously.

A serious injury that sidelined Smith Rowe for all of November and the beginning of December likely put a dent in any sincere interest in him. Though he has since returned to the pitch, he’s played fewer than 20 minutes of football throughout his four outings in all competitions since then.

The Gunners could be looking to offload him as they aim to raise funds to make new signings, in order to avoid getting punished for breaking Financial Fair Play rules having spent close to £200million in the summer transfer window.

Arsenal are in the market to sign a new striker and they have been linked with the likes of Ivan Toney, Dominic Solanke, Dusan Vlahovic and Borja Mayoral.