BOSS Eddie Howe said supporters had "not necessarily" seen the last of Harry Arter in a Cherries shirt after revealing the club had "reluctantly" loaned him to Cardiff.

Arter, the second longest-serving player in the Cherries squad behind Marc Pugh, joined the Bluebirds on a season-long deal ahead of the closing of the transfer window.

The 28-year-old midfielder is ineligible to feature against his parent club in any competition this season and there is no provision in the agreement to recall him in January.

Signed by Howe from non-league Woking for a bargain £4,000 in June 2010, Arter has been a key figure in the club’s rise from the depths of League One to the Premier League.

Crowned Daily Echo-Micky Cave supporters’ player of the year when Cherries clinched promotion to the top flight, he is also a hugely-popular figure among the Dean Court faithful.

But despite penning a new four-year contract just 12 months ago, the Republic of Ireland international was restricted to 13 appearances in the Premier League last season.

And the arrival of club record signing Jefferson Lerma for £25million would almost certainly have influenced Arter’s decision to seek pastures new for this season.

However, asked by the Daily Echo whether Arter had played his last game for Cherries, Howe replied: “No, not necessarily. I think that will be dependant on lots of factors, not just one thing.

“From my perspective, would I pick Harry Arter again? Yes, of course I would. If I felt it was best for Bournemouth, I would do that

“How Harry feels is for him to speak about. But from my side, there has been no major falling out or disagreements.

“I love the player and the person and wish him well this season.

“He needs to be happy in his environment and needs to feel like he has a very good chance of playing so, all those things being well, yes, he could come back and play here for sure.”

Asked how difficult a decision it had been to let Arter go, Howe added: “It was very difficult. Harry’s journey epitomises that of the team and the club.

“He came here from non-league and has worked his way up through the leagues and has done it in such an impressive way.

“He has tremendous desire to achieve and to want to win. He has shown all those qualities, as has the team, and I can’t speak highly enough of him.

“The difficulty is he desperately wanted to play and to guarantee him those opportunities was very difficult for me.

“He didn’t play a great deal towards the back-end of last season and we just felt we needed to keep him playing and enjoying his football. That was key for him so we reluctantly agreed to let him go.”

Asked whether signing Arter had been one of his best pieces of business in management, Howe replied: “I think he has to be right up there.

“Although it seemed like a lot at the time, when we paid the money, we never envisaged that it would be such good business.

“We saw a talented player but didn’t quite know that he would have all the attributes he had.

“I have loved working with him for every minute that we have been together and it will be very strange to see him playing for someone else but we wish him well.”