‘Will really fly’: Troy Deeney claims player sold by Arsenal this summer is about to explode this season

Arsenal have not only recruited well this summer but also sold well – though one exit may remain a little difficult to swallow for some fans.

The Gunners are pushing to finally win the Premier League title this season having come so close in the last two seasons.

Mikel Arteta is attempting to mastermind a title-winning campaign and has been backed with three important deals.

David Raya’s loan move was turned permanent before Arsenal pounced to bring in Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.

Arsenal have added to their signing tally this week having confirmed the signing of midfielder Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad.

It isn’t just about signings though and Arsenal are actually set to come out of the transfer window having sold well.

Troy Deeney on Emile Smith Rowe

Arteta simply has no room for sentiment in the pursuit of a Premier League title and he made one difficult sale this summer.

Eddie Nketiah is set for Crystal Palace, Aaron Ramsdale is close to joining Southampton but the one which really hurt was Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham.

Arsenal cashed in on Smith Rowe in a deal worth up to £34million, allowing him to join London rivals Fulham.

Smith Rowe has already caught the eye for Fulham and scored in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Leicester City.

The 24-year-old needed first-team action and it just wasn’t going to come at Arsenal, so the move to Fulham should help him really kick on.

Former Watford striker Troy Deeney has now offered his view on Smith Rowe whilst speaking on Sky Sports (27/08, 19:42).

Deeney believes that Smith Rowe really needed to become a ‘big fish in a smaller pond’ rather than just a squad player at a title-challenger in Arsenal.

Deeney noted that Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are always likely to keep Smith Rowe out of the team, so he simply had to move on.

The former Premier League ace added that Smith Rowe ‘will really fly’, predicting that he will explode with Fulham this season once he gets more games under his belt.

“I just think sometimes you need to be a big fish in a smaller pond,” said Deeney. “And I think at Arsenal he was playing well, but you had Odegaard there, you had Saka there, you are not getting in, whereas here, he will be the main man, he will get game time. We all know four, five games gets you running and I think he will really fly,” he added.

Smith Rowe could be joined by another Arsenal talent

Marco Silva will be delighted with Smith Rowe’s early impact at Fulham and may even more for another Arsenal player.

Reports suggest that Fulham are interested in Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.

Smith Rowe has already hailed Nelson as a ‘top player’ and the pair have known each other since Under-10 level.

This would only add to Arsenal’s kitty and could take the Gunners over the £100million mark in terms of player sales this summer.

This is something Arsenal needed to improve at and, whilst selling Smith Rowe will still sting for some Arsenal fans, it will leave Arsenal in a healthy position moving forward.