Newcastle United transfer target Emile Smith Rowe has already addressed his Arsenal future

Arsenal attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has reportedly emerged as a January transfer target for Newcastle United.

The 23-year-old has struggled for game time since the beginning of last season. He hadn’t started a match in over a year until the Carabao Cup win at Brentford last month.

Smith Rowe made 14 substitute appearances in 2022-23 and his situation hasn’t improved this term with just 10 minutes of Premier League football under his belt.

The Northern Echo claims the Magpies are monitoring the three-capped England international but when speaking about his future in June, Smith Rowe vowed to fight for his future at the Emirates.

“I just want to be on the pitch,” he told The Times. “This was the hardest season of my career.

“It was tough, but we were in a title race and I understand the manager isn’t going to change the team if we’re winning every game. I just tried to stay positive and train as well as I could. The other players and Mikel were great with me, kept me feeling connected. But it was tough, a long season. I won’t lie.

“Arsenal are my club and I’m not going to give up until [Arteta] says he doesn’t want me. But that’s not the case. He wants me as part of the team and I want to fight for my place and get back in the team.”

Despite Smith Rowe’s limited game time, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has previously suggested he does not want to lose the player.

“Here he is incredibly popular,” Arteta said in September. “We all love him. It’s no different to what the people feel to what we feel about him.

“There’s been many reasons why he hasn’t started a match. He was out for a long, long time. He had a sequence of matches that he played with the national team, then he came in and didn’t participate.

“In the last two matches he’s played more minutes and tomorrow (against Brentford) he will have a big chance to show that he can play at this level and be a really important player for us.”

Smith Rowe progressed through the academy at Arsenal and has made 102 senior appearances, scoring 18 times and providing 11 assists.