Emile Smith Rowe is not keen to leave Arsenal this year, but he knows he can’t let the prime years of his career pass him by.

The Athletic report that Emile Smith Rowe isn’t keen to leave Arsenal. He feels they are his club, and he believes he’s good enough to play for them.

Yet the same source adds that Smith Rowe knows he can’t afford to let the prime of his career pass him by.

The report suggests Arsenal’s long-held position on Smith Rowe that he’s not for sale “may shift” this year.

The Gunners are likely to need to sell this summer to keep investing in the squad, and an academy graduate like Smith Rowe is a particularly appealing sale from a financial standpoint as his transfer would be recorded as pure profit.

Last week, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook reported that he believes Aston Villa remain interested in Smith Rowe, having previously attempted to sign the midfielder in 2021.

At the time, Smith Rowe’s contract situation wasn’t entirely clear, and Villa decided to test Arsenal’s resolve with offers of £25m and £30m.

The Gunners quickly shut both bids down, announcing a new contract for the England international not long afterwards.

But Villa’s interest hasn’t waned since then, and they’d still seemingly be up for a move if Arsenal made Smith Rowe available.

Villa aren’t the only club watching Smith Rowe’s situation, with The Athletic recently reporting that Newcastle United have tracked the player long term.

Smith Rowe was also linked with West Ham United in October.

The Arsenal man suffered an injury keeping him out for the entirety of November and the start of December as well, which probably cooled any genuine January interest in him.

Though he has now returned to the pitch, Smith Rowe has played less than 20 minutes of football across his four appearances in all competitions since then.