What do former Arsenal players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale all have in common?
They were three of the first names on the team sheet during the early days of the Mikel Arteta reign at the Emirates Stadium but it wasn’t too long before they were given the boot.
While Ramsdale was actually signed by Arteta, replacing Bernd Leno, the Englishman was eventually told to find a new club once David Raya had established himself as the number 1.
Aubameyang’s situation was altogether rather different. His public falling out with Arteta is well documented (video below) after the Spaniard famously stripped the striker of the club captaincy.
The forward’s attitude and punctuality were questioned on a regular basis. The Gabonese was regularly late for things.
Despite being key to the FA Cup, still Arteta’s only trophy to date, he left in controversial circumstances and is not remembered in too many glowing terms now.
The same cannot be said of Smith Rowe. His exit from north London was far sadder.
The downfall of Emile Smith Rowe at Arsenal
The date is 26th July 2018. Arsene Wenger is no longer in the hot seat and during Unai Emery’s first pre-season in charge, Arsenal face Atletico Madrid.
Not much is remembered about that game besides the impact a 17-year-old Smith Rowe made. He scored a sumptuous goal from range, showcasing an abundance of potential in the process.
For the most part, the young attacking midfielder lived up to his early hype, but it was not until the Arteta regime began that he became one of the finest in the Premier League.
Smith Rowe earned his England debut in 2021 and went from strength to strength, buoyed further by the emergence of fellow Hale Ender, Bukayo Saka.
In 2021/22, the goalscoring midfielder was in electric from, notably finding the net on 11 occasions.
However, a dismal run of injuries eventually halted the now 25-year-old’s progress. Smith Rowe still has a dazzling run in him but his fitness was totally unreliable. Show an unreliable trait and more often than not you don’t last very long with Arteta.
No one can fault the academy graduate’s commitment and attitude but so rotten were his injury problems that he only started three league games during his final year with Arsenal.
That said, even when he was available, he very rarely started many games of football towards the end. He was an unused substitute on a remarkable 18 occasions in 2023/24 and only played 346 Premier League minutes.
Smith Rowe looked bright in cameos but he must have known his race was run. A mighty fine player he was, but he had now fallen victim to injuries and Arsenal’s increased depth and quality. By now, Martin Odegaard had entered the fray.
So, in the modern day, who is now facing the same treatment from the manager?
Arsenal "warrior" is becoming their new Smith Rowe
The job Arteta and his transfer chiefs have performed in the transfer window in recent years has been extraordinary, but it took for Edu Gaspar to leave and Andrea Berta to arrive for things to really ramp up.
While many thought Liverpool had won the summer transfer window of 2025, spending British record sums on Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, Arsenal were rightfully commended for the way they went about their business.
The forward line was finally bolstered but the defence was not neglected either, of course it wasn’t. Arteta loves a defender and he has totally transformed the Gunners’ backline since becoming head coach.
From the days of Rob Holding and David Luiz to William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, it’s been quite the change. Well, this summer saw the arrivals of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie. In the process, it has hurt the game time of two players.
Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori are now ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly in the pecking order, while Benjamin White has perhaps suffered even more from Arsenal’s increased squad depth and quality.
White arrived in a £50m deal from Brighton back in the summer of 2021 and has proven himself to be a fabulous capture. It was an eye-watering amount of money to pay for a player with one full season of Premier League experience but that price tag has looked like a relative bargain considering his performances.
Arriving as a centre-back, he endured a tricky debut game against Brentford where Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville criticised his ability in the air and his strength.
While White has featured at centre-back plenty of times since then, it’s at right-back where he made a home for himself in Arteta’s side. His partnership with Bukayo Saka on the right flank became one of the club’s biggest weapons. Michael Owen said as much, describing it as “very important for Arsenal.”
It was a potent attacking threat but one that worked tremendously well defensively too. “The amount of defending he does for me is crazy. He never leaves me one-on-one,” White once said about Saka.
That once fabled partnership has been a rare one over the last year, however. That’s largely because of Jurrien Timber, but also because of injuries.
Timber bounced back from a horrific ACL injury during his debut year in north London to become the undisputed number one choice at right-back last season. The Dutchman played 48 times in all competitions, scoring twice and assisting four goals. White, on the other hand, featured in 26 matches but started on just 13 occasions in the league. That was not just due to Timber’s remarkable form but a troublesome knee problem.
This term, White has returned to full fitness but like Smith Rowe, cannot break into the team despite his qualities.
Ben White’s Arsenal career
|
Season
|
Games
|
Goal involvements
|
2021/22
37
0
2022/23
46
7
2023/24
51
9
2024/25
26
2
2025/26
6
0
Stats via Transfermarkt.
|
In his final campaign with the Gunners, the attacking midfielder was regularly a substitute, something we’ve alluded to already, and White is suffering the same fate.
The 28-year-old played 71 minutes during the 1-0 win over Manchester United on the opening weekend of the campaign but has not played a single minute of Premier League football since. He has been an unused sub on eight occasions.
Firmly being given the Smith Rowe treatment, the defender is also struggling to break into the Champions League side, having played only 82 minutes across Arsenal’s four ties.
White has been an excellent servant since signing. He’s a “warrior” in the words of scout Jacek Kulig, but he has been surpassed swiftly by Timber, just as Odegaard surpassed Smith Rowe all of those years ago.
Whether the full-back gets back into the team only time will tell, but it may take an injury to one of the backline for him to save his career at the Emirates Stadium.