has spoken out about his Arsenal future following a frustrating season in north for the Englishman.
, and Brighton have all been linked with a move for Smith Rowe after he barely featured in the 2022-23 campaign for the Gunners.
Smith Rowe featured just 14 times across all competitions amid struggles with injury – while for much of the second half of the season he was an unused substitute on the bench.
The 22-year-old, who can operate as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder or a winger, came through the Arsenal academy and has made a total of 96 first-team appearances, registering 18 goals and 11 assists.
There were rumours that as his replacement.
But according to reports, .
Smith Rowe has now spoken about his future as he told : ‘I just want to be on the pitch. This was the hardest season of my career.
‘It was tough [not playing], 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 [Arteta] 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. I think with the team we’ve got, it’s definitely possible [to win the Premier League].
‘This season, it just got nicked at the end and you can’t really argue with Man City, but knowing we managed to go so far in the season top of the league shows the character and belief we have as a young team.
‘I think this year was just the start for us and next season we can do even better.’
