Things heating up in London: Arsenal child to move into a Cottage

According to The Athletic, Emile Smith-Rowe could replace one London side - and his boyhood club - Arsenal, with another one, Fulham, in this transfer window. All that wouldn't be so odd if the Cottagers weren't ready to pay more than 40 million euros for the player who gathered only 475 minutes in all competitions in the previous season! Moreover, Smith-Rowe had knee and ankle injuries during the past season, but those weren't the main reason for his lack of minutes - it was his poor form.

However, Fulham recognized the 23-year-old as someone who could improve their squad, while Arsenal could use the money - especially a sum this high - for a bench player since the Gunners are on the verge of finalizing Riccardo Calafiori's arrival for almost the same amount! Fulham's most expensive acquisition so far was Jean-Michael Seri, who joined from Nice for 30 million euros in 2018, whereas Arsenal's most profitable selling was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's move to Liverpool worth 38 million.

He recently made Havertz cry and now is on the verge of joining Arsenal

Smith-Rowe joined Arsenal in 2010 at the age of 10 and moved through all the club's youth categories. He debuted for the senior team in 2018 and has since played 115 matches, recording 18 goals and 13 assists. However, he spent two seasons on loans at RB Leipzig (2019) and Huddersfield (2020), which turned out to be not-so-successful spells. Last season, partly due to the aforementioned injuries and partly due to fierce competition in the Gunners' midfield, Smith-Rowe collected only 19 games and noted two assists.