Topics: Arsenal, Emile Smith-Rowe, Mikel Arteta
Arsenal fans are convinced Mikel Arteta has confirmed that a player will be moving on after his comments following the game against Bournemouth.
The Gunners drew 1-1 with the Cherries at Dignity Health Sports Park, with Fabio Vieira's opener cancelled out by Antoine Semenyo's strike.
Interestingly, the game went to penalties, where Arsenal won 5-4.
It was Arsenal's second pre-season outing following on from a lowkey friendly with Leyton Orient.
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Arteta spoke to the media after the fixture and more or less announced the exit of player Emile Smith-Rowe.
The academy graduate wore the armband against Orient in what could well be his final game for the club.
He was not involved against Bournemouth, with speculation about his future a key reason he was denied a farewell appearance.
As per Football.London, Arteta said: “There are things happening in the background at the moment,” he said.
“We decided the best thing to do was to keep him away from the game today.”
Arteta is referring to a transfer to Fulham being in the works after the Cottagers pushed hard to sign him.
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Smith-Rowe is closing in on a switch to Craven Cottage.
Fulham had an initial £30 million offer rejected by Arsenal but they upped the bid to a club-record £35 million, which has been accepted.
Fulham's previous record transfer was the £27 million capture of Jean Michael Seri from Nice in 2018.
The 23-year old still needs to undergo a medical and agree personal terms but is expected to become the club's first signing of the summer.
Smith-Rowe, who is also a target for Crystal Palace, was restricted to just 346 minutes in the Premier League last season due to injury.
His best season came in the 2021/22 season when he scored 11 goals and was Arsenal's top scorer.
