Emile Smith Rowe showing Arsenal they didn't need to spend £65m on Kai Havertz with England U21s form

Smith Rowe responded to the show of faith in sensational fashion, becoming the first Hale End graduate to hit double figures in a single season (10 goals) since Cesc Fabregas.

His performances were so impressive that he was even called into the England squad, and helped himself to a first international goal at senior level, albeit in a rout of San Marino.

It seemed as if a superstar had been born. But if Villa returned with a reasonable bid for Smith Rowe's services now, there's a very strong chance that Arsenal would give it serious consideration.

So, what's gone wrong? Why is there suddenly doubt surrounding the future of a player that looked like the future of the club?

The 2021-22 season ended in bitter disappointment for Arsenal, with fierce rivals Tottenham pipping them to fourth place in the Premier League - and the Champions League spot that comes with it.

However, Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka offered genuine reason for optimism. Here were a pair of homegrown heroes who had proven that they had the talent and the temperament to shine at the very highest level.

Unfortunately, while Saka took his game to a whole other level last season, establishing himself as one of the most exciting - and effective - wingers in world football, Smith Rowe regressed.

A lengthy spell on the sidelines certainly didn't help - but the expectation was that when Smith Rowe returned from the surgery undertaken to resolve a long-standing groin problem, he would be completely pain-free for the first time in years. And he was.

The problem was, though, that when he returned midway through the campaign, Arsenal had a settled side that was mounting a surprise title tilt. And there was no obvious route into the starting XI for Smith Rowe.

Although capable of playing in a variety of attacking positions, Gabriel Martinelli and Saka were running riot out wide, captain Martin Odegaard was proving himself a top-quality No.10, while Granit Xhaka was revelling in a more advanced, box-to-box role in midfield.

However, it was staggering just how little game time Smith Rowe was seeing.

He made his return from injury in an FA Cup win at Oxford on January 9 and was given another late cameo in the Premier League six days later, against Spurs.

However, Smith Rowe didn't set foot on the field again until March.

He ended the season having played just 195 minutes in all competitions. Even accounting for the injury, it was a paltry and puzzling figure, because even when changes were made, the desperately underwhelming summer signing Fabio Vieira often got on ahead of him.

Umpteen opportunities to give Smith Rowe a run-out came and went. He could have been brought on to give someone in an overstretched squad a valuable rest when Arsenal were cruising - but he remained on the bench.

It was the same story when the Gunners were in dire need of goals during the title run-in. Some of the regulars were visibly running on empty and yet Arteta snubbed Smith Rowe in favour of other attacking options.

When pressed on the issue, Arteta's response was telling.

"In football, it's not about what you've done a year or a month ago," the Spaniard explained. "It's about what you do now, what you did yesterday and what you're going to do tomorrow."

The implication was obvious: in Arteta's eyes, Smith Rowe simply wasn't doing enough to force his way back into the starting XI.

But what about now? Smith Rowe is presently reminding everyone of his class at the European Under-21 Championship, having scored two goals in three of England's group games going into Sunday's quarter-final clash with Portugal.

And yet his hopes of reclaiming a starting spot have actually taken a knock over this past week because of Arsenal's shock signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

The club have paid an eye-watering £65m ($82.6m) for the Germany international. It's a significant sum of money. Havertz is clearly going to play, and most likely in the No.8 role that will be imminently vacated by Xhaka.

Many fans are hoping that Smith Rowe stays. He's one of their own after all and, at 22, still has time on his side.

But one wonders whether he'll feel like he might be better served by a transfer - that there's no way back for him at Arsenal.

He'd certainly be forgiven for wondering why the club felt compelled to spend a serious chunk of their summer transfer budget filling a position that he could have played - and, on the evidence of everything we've seen in the Premier League so far, much more effectively than Havertz.

Arteta could well be the man to bring the best out of the German, to harness the tremendous talent we saw at Bayer Leverkusen.

But there's no hiding the fact that Havertz represents a very big risk. He's scored 19 goals in 91 Premier League games; Smith Rowe has 12 in 67 - and from 30 fewer starts.

The Englishman is a far superior finisher, converting nearly twice as many of his shots, creates more chances per 90 minutes, and has actually managed more assists despite the massive disparity in appearances - although his German counterpart was regularly played out of position.

Smith Rowe, then, would have every right to feel miffed by Havertz's arrival, but he should also believe himself capable of outshining the new signing next season.

However, will he be given enough chances to do so? That's the key question now.

If Smith Rowe feels the answer is no, well, it wouldn't just be Arsenal who'd seriously consider an offer from Villa or someone else this summer - he would too.