Emile Smith Rowe’s 14-year association with Arsenal is over after he completed a move to Fulham worth up to £34 million. There are also suggestions the Gunners have negotiated a 10% sell-on clause.
The England international, 24, vacates the number 10 shirt three years after signing a long-term contract that positioned him as one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players.
An operation on a long-standing groin injury in September 2022 hasn’t helped the midfielder’s cause in the last couple of years. His recovery took longer than expected and when he did return, he struggled to compete with captain Martin Odegaard for a starting berth.
Smith Rowe made his debut during Unai Emery’s tenure before embarking on loan spells with RB Leipzig and Huddersfield. While the former was wrecked by injury, the latter proved to be a turning point for the player as he featured week in, week out.
Thank you, Emile ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 2, 2024
After recovering from an untimely shoulder injury, sustained on the eve of the 2020/21 campaign, Smith Rowe finally got his chance to shine under Arteta. He was thrust into the starting lineup against Chelsea on Boxing Day 2020, played brilliantly in a 3-1 win and pretty much kept his place in the starting lineup for the rest of the season.
At his best, he was a bold carrier of the ball, timed his runs into the box brilliantly and was an efficient finisher.
The following season he scored 10 goals in 33 appearances in the Premier League – form which earned him selection by England – although by the end of the campaign, he was increasingly used off the bench. As it turned out, he was already being treated with kid gloves due to the groin issue that would later require surgery.
In the last two seasons, Smith Rowe played 716 minutes – the equivalent of eight full matches – and during that time Arsenal evolved at pace. Arteta leaned heavily on an inverted left-back, Odegaard led the high press and the likes of Martinelli and Trossard locked down the left flank. The arrivals of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz raised the level even further.
When Smith Rowe did play, he appeared so eager to make an impact that he couldn’t hide his frustration when things didn’t come off. His body language increasingly reflected a battle with self-doubt even though he worked so hard to leave such issues behind.
The decision to leave Arsenal will not have been taken lightly but it feels right for all involved. It represents one of the most expensive departures in Gunners’ history and Fulham’s biggest-ever transfer.
We can only wish him all the best for the future.
Big mistake!!
Our Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer plays for Chelsea — he sucks.
Emile is way better. 😎
If he is way better then that is even more reason why it’s a mistake and we shouldn’t have sold him. Like Palmer, next season he will be the best player at a midtable West London club and we will regret his departure just like City are regretting Palmer leaving them
No.
I think City are doing OK without Palmer
Seriously, think about what Bernardo or Grealish or Doku would do at Chelsea, nevermind de Bruyne. Alvarez and now Savio too. They are so flush with talent it’s absurd. That said Pep did want to keep him but Palmer knew he needed a different situation to thrive and pushed his way out. Otherwise he’d have had the latter day Mahrez role (~15-20 starts in all comps) instead of being part of the furniture as he is now.
Yep, I think I’ll be ok with watching Emile blossom for Fulham and score 15 goals a season if we win the treble and multiple PL titles in a row at the same time. In fact I’d be absolutely delighted for him.
Absolutely delighted at the fee we still managed to get for him after two seasons of having produced very little. Another similar season with us would’ve probably meant his value falling off a cliff to 10mil max. He needs oxygen and regular playing time to thrive and he was never going to get that with us unless several players got injured (and he stayed healthy which isn’t a given with him either)
Maybe, maybe not. There’s clearly been some breakdown between him and Mikel for a while now. He needs a change of scenery at this point.
My main problem is why he wasn’t trusted in our left 8 position. Surely he is absolutely made for it as a direct, goal-scoring midfielder with great ball control and interplay. Best of luck for him at Fulham, but for me that role suited him to an T and there will always be a sense of what could have been.
are you serious? he no way has the discipline for an 8
Or the defensive attributes and engine.
Arteta obviously me thinks doesn’t see ESR fitting into his vision of how he wants the the team to play. I love ESR but am trusting Artetas vision. Don’t think it’s a falling out issue at all. Now grab the 17 million euros offered for Nketia and that covers some of money spent and hopefully allows us to spend again.
If we get out the blocks I’m convinced we can win it. COYG
Palmer is a pass first player who drifts inside from the right wing. Smith is a carry first player who finds space to run into off the ball. They are so different as to be practically opposites.
I am comparing them in that they both have potential to be top players who have come through the academies of big clubs only to be sold for a medium transfer fee to a midtable team where they will excel and show they deserve to be a part of their original team
It doesn’t work like that. Excelling in one environment is no guarantee of excelling in another. Palmer shone at Chelsea because they had a massive creative void and played a more transitional game with overlapping FBs. He would never get that at City. If Smith shines at Fulham, it will be because he gets optimally platformed with a system and players around him that make the most of his abilitites. He would never get that at Arsenal.
Who are you Clive? Do you watch every Chelsea game. Sam 100% right, we should have kept him.
Hi Alan, I’m a nerd from America who loves to study football. And you?
Stockpiling talent we have no intention of using due to scheme fit is no good for anyone. This was the right move for all parties.
Cole Palmer has a rat face. Sad to see ESR leave. Fuck money
He will always have a home and a family at Arsenal FC.
Good deal for all three parties. Good amount of money for a guy that has missed so much time, but has shown here can do it. Fulham get a quality player. ESR gets opportunity he needs. IMO, I think we (meaning Arteta/Edu et al) would have rather kept him over Vieira, but there is no market for Vieira right now and we needed to generate funds for incoming players. Personally, I’d rather ESR than Vieira, but this probably allows us to get Merino and he’s a big step up from both, so it’s a savvy sale.
Yeah, I don’t think Artedu (copyright) or the players wanted ESR to go, but it is a deal that works for everyone (and I like the sell-on clause, too, if he breaks out and stays healthy — we’ll be paying ourselves when we buy him back!).
Vieira needs to make the most of his starts in the cup competitions and his cameos in the PL matches as a sub — he could headed back to Spain next year otherwise.
and you could head back to france…
Spain? He’s from Portugal and we bought him from there.
Oops! Why did I think he was also from Real Sociedad?
The fact we all knew it was coming doesn’t make it any easier to stomach or even comprehend really. Good luck Emile! 😥
Nketiah and Nelson to go next, Only Saka make it. Just shows how much Arteta has raised the standard at Arsenal. This is the standard needed to win big trophies!
I think Saka is going to have a massive year, too. We will begin to punish teams from the left, which will force them to defend equally on both sides, and Saka is going to feast.
Yeah, this is what I feel too, this will be the year Saka breaks out to become truly world class by improving his finishing and pushing towards or over 20 goal mark in EPL.
Considering what ESR has accomplished already (with Arsenal) and the value of this sale, safe to say he made it. But like you say, we’re a big cheese now, tough competition for places. Having anyone from you academy in your first team at this level is incredible. Being able to sell a bunch of these guys at £25M+ (ESR, willock, iwobi) is pretty amazing.
Iwobi, Willock, Balogun, ESR – that’s over £100M in fees received. More than keeps the lights on.
This guy is KDB. We will regret this. Viera is half the player. He shouldv gone instead.
Vieira is a different profile and plays in a completely different area of the pitch, where we dont have 3 other players vying for the same position, but go on
Viera is playing wing. Smith rowe was a much better wing than he will ever be. And definitely a better 8 or 10. They are both forwards doing similar things
He’s being given an education on the wing. It’s not his destiny. Arteta wants him to work on receiving and shifting under pressure. Scan, scan, scan, show, anticipate contact, receive, shift angle, release quickly, scan, move, scan, move again… that’s the drill.
Smith Rowe doesn’t play on the right, he plays from the left every time we’ve seen him, which places him in direct competition with players who are not vieira.
Don’t let facts get in the way of a good rant…
Viera plays in exactly the same areas of the pitch but is not good enough to get a game there. The only reason he’s playing on the right is there’s no where else he’s going to get a game. If he doesn’t work on the right in preseason he’ll be gone on loan before the start of the season never to return.
I feel it’s a make or break season for Vieira, especially with Nwaneri lurking.
KDB has the mental profile of a killer that ESR will never have. ESR is a nice player but cmon.
One of the all time players in terms of attacking threat: carrying OR passing OR shooting. Just behind the GOATs like Messi and Maradona in that regard. Still an outlier last season despite age 33 and missing like 6 months.
Nobody wants Vieira now.
I want Vieira. He will be jawdroppingly good if he can anticipate contact a bit better. He may not figure that out but if he does… watch out
And if he puts on 15 lbs of muscle. Hey gets pushed off the ball so easily. The other night Liverpool’s kids were outmuscling him at the end of the game. He generally seemed to know they were coming, but he still couldn’t stop them from pushing him off the ball.
Why does Bernardo never seem to get pushed off the ball? Or Odegaard most of the time? Or Jorginho? They’ve learned the art of how to receive the ball with the proper body orientation with respect to the momentum of the incoming challenge. They can use either foot to caress the ball into the space they want while their body is shaped to avoid or maximize the contact. They either draw a foul or they open an angle for a dribble or pass. That’s what FV has to master.
He’s a nothing player mate. Can strike the ball sweet and that’s it. He’s slow, takes too many touches, gets pushed off the ball easily and is useless off the ball. He will be out on loan before the season starts. If he stays this season we will be giving him away next summer. This time next year nwaneri and Lewis Skelly will both be in the 1st team squad. There’s no place for him.
He strikes the ball sweet off either foot, from deep, from wide, from wherever. His catalog of bangers is on the web (and shooting from deeper zones is one of Arsenal’s areas of weakness btw). His weight of pass is sublime, he’s a throughball artist of the highest order, his crossing is likewise great. He’s in the lab behind Odegaard who is a more complete player right now, having navigated his own choppy waters for many years before he found himself with us. FV hasn’t hit the heights with us yet because it’s a different team, different style, higher level,… Read more »
He’s the skinny denilson mate, if he’s starting we’re in trouble. I believe he’s 24, it’s not going to happen for him in the premier league. Liverpool’s u18s made him look like an 15 year old.
Come on guys, stop with the comps to other blonde white attacking midfielders.
Gone where exactly? Haven’t heard any team being interested at this sort of value.
🙁
Thanks for your contribution to the Arsenal, Emile S-R, and all the best for your future.
Thanks, Emile, and all the best!
Farewell ESR. Thank you and good luck with The Cottagers. Good business by The Arsenal.
Isn’t circumstance a strange thing? When he came into the team, the sky was the limit. Injuries lost him confidence and faith with the management. Then, not really being able to recapture his form because others in his position were available and doing well.
Sad to see the unfulfilled potential go, but the team has moved on and he needs to play. I think he will do well, just sad it wasn’t with us. A fit ESR over the last two years and we may not have bought Viera or Trossard.
feels like a summer relationship. not many things actually happened, but we won’t forget it. someday down the road in 10 years time a song by the smiths is gonna play and im gonna be thinking of an english kid whipping it first time from outside the box to the bottom corner. it’s sad it has to end, but i wish you the best emile!
Does MØ take the 10? Perhaps leaving the 8 to an emerging Nwaneri or incoming Merino?
Knew it was coming but still hurts. Good luck ESR, once a gooner, always a gooner. I wish you all the best, get that form back and we can re sign you in a couple of years x.
I have to say watching the ” Thank you Emile” montage on Arsenal.com got me a tad emotional. Wish him the best.
Through all my years supporting Arsenal, from Liam Brady, to David Rocastle onwards there have been some painful sales. This one feels up there with the worst of them, even though in my heart I know it’s probably the right thing for all parties.
All the best then, Emile. Genuinely hope you can rediscover the form we have all seen from him in the past.
Once a Gooner… (sob).
I get that this “makes sense”, but it still doesn’t quite sit right with me, and if he goes on to reach his potential at Fulham it probably never will. But with that being said, best of luck to him!
The sad part is that ESR probably saved Arteta’s job after that horrible spell with Willian as our 10 (🫨). But, unfortunately, that’s life.The constant injury problems and the arrival of Odegaard really gave him little chance.
I love Smith-Rowe, but I really don’t like that narrative. Arteta’s job didn’t need saving. People who know the game saw that he was elite from day 1.
Absolutely.
A sad day. I love the Smith.
Sad & a bit broken that ESR has gone ! I genuinely hope he does brilliantly at Fulham, stays fit & I hope gets into the England squad & gets the recognition his talent deserves. One of us leaving is never good, but last time I felt like this was when Liam Brady left ! In no way is that a footballing comparison just me wishing neither had gone ! Thanks Emilie I loved watching you mate !
He’s gone & already I’ve forgotten his name !!! I’m a disgrace !!!
Great deal for Arsenal, Emile and Fulham.
Really sucky one for us fans.
It’s a sad day. All the best for the lad, in the future
Gutted, while acknowledging that this was the best move for all concerned. I feel lucky to have been there at the Emirates that day when ESR and Saka scored and their song rang out at the stadium at full time.
Fullham will probably be more fun to watch this year than us.
I’ll tell you what. Go watch Fulham this season and report back to us in May
Hopefully he will return back in a few years after smashing spuds on our behalf
We can’t rule it out and he’s only 24. I hope he plays really well but not so well that we couldn’t afford to buy him back.
This could be either a fantastic deal for Fulham or a disastrous one.
If they can keep ESR fit then he could develop into an elite player and possibly move on for a massive fee.
But if his injury record continues then they may have bought a white elephant.
Either way, this was the right deal for Arsenal: Arteta clearly didn’t fancy ESR any more.
Good luck to him.
No let’s get rid of Eddie.
1 thing for sure, he’s definitely going to get more minutes on the pitch now.
Always a Gooner.
Emile, good luck, and don’t forget that you will always have a special place in our hearts!
This is almost as devastating as when Alexander Hleb left 🙁
Sad to see him go, but glad for him that he is going to get an opportunity to play more regularly. He had such potential and was unfortunately set back by all of the injuries. Would have been interesting to see how he may have fit into Arteta’s plans had he not had all the injury setbacks.
In all careers there is a time when the advancement window is open and when it is not. ESR unfortunately missed his opportunity apparently because of bad luck. IMO he stayed to long at Arsenal. Young players must play. I wish the absolute best going forward.
I add he scored my favor Arsenal goal.
Looking forward to ESR putting the hurt on some West London fools.
Good thing is we know he knows how to do it. 😉
Wishing all the best for Emile!
Just wanna watch him play.
I’m sad to see him go, but this is a win-win deal. Wishing him all the best at Fulham, except when they play us (cue ESR brace incoming in the next derby).
Won’t comment on the sale itself, because I can’t judge “the current” ESR on the probably less than 10 hours of time I’ve seen him play in competitive games last season. (and yes, I have seen all games, but it can’t have been more). There are ppl who see him in training for hours each day and I hope that they are taking the right decision in most cases. Hope no personal feelings and only objective data (which the deciders in our club have access to while I don’t) influence such decision. But one thing is clear: Only the very,… Read more »
Here’s wishing you all the best, Smith-Rowe.❤️🙏🏾
He hit the post several times last season, surely his record would be very respectable had he converted them.
Very best of luck to him. I loved watching him in full flow with the ball at his feet, always moving forward. I hope he has a great career and that we maybe see him again in an Arsenal shirt one day, because that would mean he’s back to his fittest and best.
Thnks fr th mmrs
Looked good against Sevilla scored as well, great start🤞