Emile Smith Rowe could play a crucial part in Arsenal solving their right-back issues ahead of next season.
A picture has been unearthed of the Hale End academy graduate and Nottingham forest full-back Djed Spence during youthful days at South London side Junior Elite.
Charles Watts from Goal has reported that Arsenal want to sign Spence, who was a target of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window
Smith Rowe could potentially hold the key in prizing the defender away from their north London rivals, and also improving a position that is incredibly weak in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Spence had been linked with the club ever since his magnificent performance in the third round of the FA Cup, where Arsenal were embarrassingly eliminated at the hands of Nottingham Forest.
Spence had pocketed Gabriel Martinelli who was on magnificent form for the Gunners in the weeks leading up to the cup tie.
The Englishman then carried his excellent display into the fourth round of the FA Cup against Leicester City, where Forest surprisingly ran rampant in a 4-1 victory.
Spence played a big part in this win getting on the scoresheet and was solid defensively as he also won seven of his duels.
Despite the excellent acquisition of Tomiyasu from Bologna in a bargain £19.8m deal, Arteta’s side still requires another right-back in the squad.
Due to the sale of Calum Chambers, it means that Takehiro Tomiyasu has been left with little competition for his spot.
The difference in quality between Tomiyasu and the covering right-backs was proven in the 4-1 victory over Leeds United when Cedric Soares came on to replace the 23-year-old and instantly Arteta’s defence looked weaker, causing the loss of a clean sheet.
Signing a right-back in the summer transfer window must be a high priority for Edu, which is also potentially a reason why the club have been heavily linked to Spence.
While Spence has been excellent in the FA Cup recently, it would still be a risky deal to complete due to how unproven he is, and a player such as Tariq Lamptey would be a better option, as Not also does his quality make him an attractive signing, but it is also because he will provide a completely different style of play to Tomiyasu, as the Englishman is better on the overlap, and providing a threat to the opposition box.
However, if Spence is the player the Arsenal hierarchy aim for, then Smith Rowe could be the key in the Gunners completing a deal for the full-back.
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