Alan Shearer left in awe of ‘really clever’ player Arsenal sold this summer

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Right now Arsenal are on the cusp of Mikel Merino joining the club, a midfielder who will provide Mikel Arteta with another crucial option going forward.

Merino has just completed his Arsenal medical – a superb talent who the Gunners have been chasing for some time.

If he wishes, Arteta can now return Declan Rice to his most familiar role as a number six, the position he still plays for his country.

Merino will predominantly play as a number eight, his days playing in the pivot whilst at Newcastle United in the Premier League seem to be behind him.

That being said, in order to sign Merino, Arsenal needed to raise funds and clear a spot in their squad.

And in turn, Merino has effectively replaced Emile Smith Rowe at Arsenal, someone who remains a very popular figure in north London.

A plethora of Arsenal players celebrated Smith Rowe’s first Fulham goal on Saturday.

And when speaking on Match of the Day, Alan Shearer was incredibly impressed by the Hale-Ender who Arsenal let go.

Former Arsenal player Emile Smith Rowe is already raising eyebrows at Fulham

Whilst many Arsenal fans will have been sad to see Smith Rowe leave, they mostly understood the situation, he’s an excellent player who simply needed to leave to play football.

Therefore, Smith Rowe’s good performances at Fulham are more likely to be greeted by delight rather than regret in north London.

That being said, when analysing his performance, Shearer was convinced that Smith Rowe had made the right move for his career.

He said: “I think he’s a really good player, 24 years of age, Fulham’s record signing, £27m rising to £34m, £35m. 

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“I mean Marco Silva said it about him, arriving late into the box and he does that really, really well.

“He’s full of confidence and he’s only going to get better, he got just over an hour in the game against Man United, just under 70 minutes today and that’s a really clever finish – he takes it early.

“I think it’s a good move for him because he’s obviously going to play more, he only started three Premier League games in the last two seasons for Arsenal, he had his fair share of injuries.

“So if he can stay injury free he’ll be a big asset for Fulham, confident on the ball, he said it again, Marco Silva about him, assists and pinging the ball around – you can see he’s enjoying himself.”

Ethan Nwaneri deserves the next Arsenal chance

As well as paving the way for Merino to arrive, Smith Rowe’s departure will also aid the development of 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri this season.

The youngster was once again on the bench at Villa Park, and Arsenal chose to loan Fabio Vieira back to FC Porto before considering a move for Nwaneri.

Arteta is clearly incredibly impressed by the Hale End graduates’ talent, and he perhaps can be Arsenal’s Phil Foden in the years to come.

So whilst some of the club’s supporters may still miss seeing Smith Rowe in red, they’ll soon have another homegrown star to get behind.