Fulham have signed Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal; Gunners academy product, who was also wanted by Crystal Palace, excelled earlier in Mikel Arteta's tenure but fell out of favour; Marco Silva a factor in his desire to move to Craven Cottage
Friday 2 August 2024 15:36, UK
Emile Smith Rowe ended up on the fringes at Arsenal but few players can claim to have had a more pivotal role in the trajectory of Mikel Arteta’s reign at the Emirates Stadium.
In December 2020, long before Arsenal had become the force they are now, the situation was looking desperate. A seven-game winless run in the Premier League had left them 15th. Then came a 4-1 loss at home to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.
Arteta was fortunate games were being played behind closed doors at the time, the circumstances of the pandemic shielding him from any fan dissent. But it all changed with the introduction of Smith Rowe for a 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Of course, the academy product was not the only factor in Arsenal's upturn in form. But he was certainly the catalyst. A side previously hamstrung by a lack of creativity were unlocked. Smith Rowe, given licence to drift in the No 10 role, brought verve and imagination.
His impact was so profound that he kept his place for the next 10 consecutive Premier League fixtures. With his socks slung low around his ankles, his game characterised by one-touch passes, driving runs and an ability to knit the play, he made Arsenal better.
Their Premier League record that season proved it. Arsenal had a 67 per cent win rate with Smith Rowe starting compared to only 30 per cent without him. There is an alternate reality in which he didn't come into the side and Arteta's tenure panned out differently.
In the end, though, it is Smith Rowe who exits earlier than he would have liked, and indeed earlier than anyone would have anticipated back in 2021, when his breakthrough campaign was rewarded with a new contract and an offer to take Arsenal's No 10 shirt.
Smith Rowe's progress accelerated in the following season, bringing widespread acclaim and three England caps. Challenged to add goals to his game by Arteta, he delivered. His total of 11 put him second only to Bukayo Saka, his old academy team-mate and a player with whom he remains inextricably linked, in song if not in fortunes.
As with Saka, his status as a Hale End graduate made his emergence all the sweeter, both to the fans and to him. By the same token, it makes his departure, from the club he has called his home since he was nine, more painful. It has not been an easy decision.
Meeting him as an 18-year-old taking his first steps in the senior side under Arteta's predecessor Unai Emery certainly left the impression of a young player living his dream.
"Is this real?" he said to Sky Sports as he recounted his reaction to scoring his first goal for the club, in a Europa League win away to Qarabag in October 2018. "I've said the word too much, I think, but it's surreal," he added of those early first-team appearances.
Emery was a huge fan of his quality and tactical intelligence and Arteta has consistently talked up his talents too. "I love him as a player, he is a joy to watch," he said as recently as April. In the last two seasons, though, his words did not translate into minutes.
Injury issues played a part.
In September 2022, he was sidelined for several months after undergoing surgery to fix a long-standing growth-related groin problem, having suffered a tear to the tendon during a 3-1 loss to Manchester United which was exacerbated during the warm-down.
But even after returning to fitness, in January 2023, he was largely overlooked, his involvement limited to substitute cameos in the second half of that campaign.
It was explained to Smith Rowe and his camp, with some justification, that, in the context of a title race with Manchester City, Arteta didn't have the luxury of getting him up to speed.
But despite an insistence that he stayed at the club last summer, the new campaign brought little change. At that point, he was becoming increasingly concerned about his Arsenal future.
He was not helped by the misfortune of suffering bruising to his knee during a 5-0 win over Sheffield United in October, in what was his first start in nearly 18 months. But that was one of only a couple of minor injuries over the course of the campaign.
For the most part, he was fit and available. There was a start in a Premier League win over Nottingham Forest and a player-of-the-match display against Luton. But when it came to the bigger assignments, others were invariably preferred.
Ultimately, the additions of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, following those of Fabio Vieira and Martin Odegaard in the previous two summers, crowded him out of the first-team picture.
Indeed, as Smith Rowe began to weigh up his future, it was noted that Rice and Odegaard ranked second and third for minutes played by Arsenal players last season. Arteta's reliance on the pair, coupled with a reluctance to rotate in midfield, leaves little room for others.
To some extent, Smith Rowe might also be a victim of the side's tactical evolution. The No 10 role in which he first flourished under Arteta no longer exists as it was then. The left-sided role in which he shone in 2021/22 has different demands now too.
Ultimately, it is a sad conclusion to an Arsenal career that promised so much. But there is an acknowledgement that his exit, and the deal agreed with Fulham, who, like rival suitors Crystal Palace, had tracked him for a long time, makes sense for everyone.
Arsenal receive an initial £27m, plus up to £7m in add-ons, which can be recorded as pure profit and reinvested, while Fulham acquire a proven top-tier talent who, at 24, has his best years ahead of him. From Smith Rowe's perspective, numerous boxes are ticked too.
Fulham can of course offer regular minutes at Premier League level without the need to leave London. Similarly important, though, is the presence of head coach Marco Silva, who made an extremely positive impression during talks preceding the move and sees Smith Rowe as a player capable of contributing in all attacking positions.
While many players have flourished under the sometimes-clinical man-management of Arteta at Arsenal, there is a feeling that Silva's nurturing style might suit Smith Rowe better.
In Andreas Pereira, formerly of Manchester United, as well as Alex Iwobi and Willian, former team-mates of Smith Rowe's at Arsenal, the Fulham boss has demonstrated an ability to reinvigorate players who have previously fallen by the wayside at big clubs.
The hope is that Smith Rowe could be next. Those close to him have also highlighted the examples of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah, who developed into two of the world's best players after being deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea as youngsters.
Of course, Smith Rowe can no longer be categorised as a youngster. Having just turned 24, it is time to feature more regularly. A player whose stunning breakthrough changed the course of Arteta's Arsenal tenure is too good to sit on the fringes any longer.
