Arsenal could sell off their academy players this summer

Let's take it now to the inside pages of the Telegraph and a piece by Sam Dean. Ruthless Arteta to cash in on academy products. Arsenal free up space for Champions League pursuit by letting homegrown talents leave the club this summer. Includes some people doing well following Balogun, Charlie out in France, Rhys Nelson. What do you make of this story? Does it show that Arteta is by no means happy and content with where they are? Yeah, you know, he's obviously, you know, got a really tough ruthless slide to him, and he clearly feels that a few of these players you've mentioned there, Charlie Patino, you've got a mate, the Niles, and even Emil Smith Rowe, who's, you know, played a big part last season. I think all their futures are certainly in doubt because they need to be moved on, potentially, and players who can really cut it at the Champions League level. So Arteta feels that some of those players simply won't be able to make that step up. So I think it's a sensible decision, but it's obviously going to be a really tough one as well. Yeah, it's interesting, Martin, that Sam Dean in this piece references Emil Smith Rowe in particular, saying he's been fit for the second half of the season but not featuring, but points out that without Smith Rowe changed the course of Arteta's tenure with his performances in the Arsenal, and a manager would not be where they are today. Does it show that there's no loyalty in football, but perhaps shows that Arsenal are on an upward trajectory where the caliber of player must always improve? Without question, Arsenal are on an upward trajectory. Arteta has standards that match Guardiola, that's where he wants to take a football club. If Emil Smith Rowe was to leave, I'd be really disappointed because he was one of the young players that started to the perception of Arsenal and started to change the way they played. And Odegaard came in and just was that bit better. It was very hard to present an argument as to why Smith Rowe should start. And I know then he got moved out wide, which is really difficult for a player who's stronger in central areas. And then Martinelli comes in and does very well, and obviously Saka is flying. But the game can change very fast. An injury, a change of style. Smith Rowe's very young. I would hope he stays with Arsenal. He's very early into potentially his Arsenal career. As for moving players on, that's inevitable because Arsenal are getting better. I guess they're not going to do it to the same level that Chelsea did, but creating good players and selling them as part of the financial requirements of a team that wants to do well, it will help you with FFP if you can create good players that you can sell on. But at the same time, as we've seen by what was in our 14, 15 seconds in the Premier League, you do not get much time to develop young players and Arteta will need finished articles. So some players will be moved on. But I would hope Smith Rowe stays because I think he's a very, very good player.