Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been urged to use Emile Smith Rowe in midfield with Granit Xhaka expected to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer. The Swiss midfielder is in advanced talks to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in a €15million (£13million) deal and sign a contract until 2027 this summer, football.london understands.
Xhaka has thrived in a new role under Arteta this season, operating as a box-to-box midfielder alongside Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard. The Gunners will need to find a quality replacement for the departing 30-year-old this summer with reports linking Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo with a move to north London.
football.london understands that West Ham United midfielder Rice is Arteta's priority for the summer window as the north Londoners look to strengthen their options in the centre of the park, with Caicedo also one name on the club's shortlist of options. The arrivals of new midfielders at the club could spell the end of Smith Rowe's time with his boyhood club as speculation over his future continues to circulate ahead of the summer transfer window.
