Olaleye Idowu
Former Arsenal star, Ray Parlour has hailed the Gunners for allowing attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe to leave the club.
Parlour believes Arsenal made the right decision to let Smith Rowe to complete a £27million transfer move to Fulham this year.
Smith Rowe rose through Arsenal’s academy at the Premier League North London club.
He established himself as a first-team regular during the 2020/21 campaign.
But a series of niggling injury problems badly hampered his progress at Arsenal.
Smith Rowe eventually dropped down the pecking order under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
“I’m pleased for Smith Rowe because he needed that opportunity to go away. He wasn’t going to play regularly,” Parlour told HaytersTV.
“[Martin] Odegaard was out for a while and maybe he would have got his chance again in that No.10 role but you can’t think like that when you’re a player.
“You’ve got to think about what’s best for yourself and I think it was the right time for him to move away. I think it was the right decision for both parties.”
