EXCLUSIVE: Aston Villa reignite interest in signing Arsenal attacking midfield star this January with Unai Emery keen to bring player to Villa Park after previously working with him at Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has been linked with the move away from the north London club and Aston Villa are prepared to provide him with an exit route.

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.
The midfielder was regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in English football before his long-term injury and he has not been able to hold down a regular starting spot at Arsenal since his return. He needs to leave the club to play regularly and moving to Aston Villa would be ideal for him.

He has started just once in the Premier League this season and once in the League Cup.

The West Midlands club have shown tremendous improvement under the new manager and they are currently pushing for Champions League qualification. They have a talented squad at the disposal and Emery is clearly looking to put together a formidable squad for the future.

Smith Rowe has the potential to develop into one of the best attacking midfielders in the league, and Emery will know all about him having worked with him during the time together at Arsenal. The Spanish manager could be the right man to get the best out of the player once again.

Aston Villa are in the market to sign a new player to add to the final third on the pitch and are now being linked with a move for Smith Tower who is reportedly open to a move away from the Emirates stadium this month as he looks to put himself in contention to make England’s Euro 2024 squad.

Given his situation at Arsenal, Aston Villa will probably fancy their chances of signing him for a reasonable price. The report also claims that Arsenal could use the proceeds from his departure to sign a quality striker.

It remains to be seen whether the two clubs can come to an agreement in the coming days.