Fulham have announced the signing of Arsenal academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe for a fee of around £35m, once all add-ons and bonuses are achieved. The attacking midfielder has signed a deal which will keep him at Craven Cottage until 2029, with the option of another year.
After being left out of the Gunners' pre-season friendly on Thursday against Bournemouth in California, it seemed as though Smith Rowe's move to Fulham was just a matter of time.
He had also been linked to Crystal Palace this summer but it appears that they were not prepared to pay such a high fee for the Arsenal man, which many in West London will be pleased about.
Following the game against Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta was questioned on why Arsenal's number 10 was absent from the team and he said:
“Yeah, there are things happening in the background at the moment and we decided the best thing to do was to keep him away from the game today.”
During his Arsenal career he scored 18 goals and assisted a further 13 assists in 115 appearances since making his debut in 2019, but what was his journey like and why has it come to an end?
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His time at Arsenal
His rise to the first team
The creative midfielder joined the Hale End academy at the age of 10, and rose through the ranks at Arsenal being a key part of each team he was in at youth level. He was not only recognised by his club in his youth career either, having played for England from the under-16s until the under-21s.
He made his first-team debut for Arsenal in September 2018 at 18 years old, and netted his first goal just two weeks later.
He then gained valuable experience during loan spells with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga in 2019 and Huddersfield Town in the Championship the following year. This allowed him to learn a lot about the game and be prepared for when his time would come at Arsenal.
Both loans were very different, but in good ways. In Germany with Leipzig, where he was playing in a team who were fighting for Champions League places, while experiencing a different culture would have been challenging for sure - he only made three appearances but, at a young age, to be in that environment would have benefited Smith Rowe massively.
Then, in 2020, he went to Huddersfield who were in the Championship, this loan move was a lot more successful, playing 19 games and scoring three goals to help the Terriers fight off the threat of relegation.
Upon returning to the Gunners, he scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against West Brom in May 2021. The 'Croydon De Bruyne', which many labelled him, scored 12 goals in 53 top-flight games during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, but it was the second of the two seasons mentioned that he really made a name for himself.
In this campaign, he started 21 games and made a further 12 appearances from the bench, the most in his career to date - and scored 10 goals in the process. He, along with his teammate and friend Bukayo Saka, were two of the shining lights in the team that year and a reason for Arsenal fans to get excited.
Supporters even made a song about the pair which showed how much they adored having academy talent come through into the first team. Everything was looking up, Smith Rowe was handed the famous number 10 shirt, previously worn by Mesut Ozil, and it looked as though his Arsenal career was about to take off... until his injuries started to occur.
Since this season, he has battled countless fitness and injury issues which have paused his development and progress and, when you compare him to Saka, many would have seen Smith Rowe go onto similar if not better things. However, because of such problems, Saka has become the "Star boy" and Smith Rowe has fallen behind and out of favour.
International Career
The Arsenal man scored nine goals at youth level for his national team before getting his chance with the senior squad. He followed the path many have before him under the former England manager Gareth Southgate. This was to understand the set-up within England camps and to impress not only at club level, but with the youth teams at St George's Park before gaining his first senior Three Lions cap.
He was also part of the famous England under-17s side who won the World Cup in 2017, to which he then went on to make his senior debut for the national team. Leading up to the November 2021 camp, Smith Rowe was in fine form for his club and was deserving of a call-up to the national side.
His dream had come true at only 21 years of age, a first England call-up, and to go along with that he made his debut in a 5-0 win over Albania - followed by scoring his first England goal just days later in a resounding 10-0 win over San Marino.
The three-time England international made his last appearance for the national team in March 2022, against the Ivory Coast, before his progress was hindered by injury setbacks. He has since featured for the under-21s, however, and played a key role in the success they had last summer as they won the U21 European Championships in Germany.
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The Move
Since August 2022, Smith Rowe has made only three Premier League starts due to a combination of fitness issues and competition for spots in Arsenal’s attack. He has now fallen behind forwards Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Saka, Gabriel Jesus and even, at times, Fabio Vieira, in the pecking order.
It has to be said that Smith Rowe has not been seeking a move away from North London, however, it can be one that is of interest to all parties involved. Because he came through the club's academy, his sale will represent pure profit in Arsenal's financial accounts - something that they have been close to capacity in recently, after spending big in back-to-back windows.
This now gives the 24-year-old a fresh start however, at a new club and one with less pressure. Fulham's targets are different to Arsenal, they won't be fighting for the Premier League title so the weight of that will be relaxed for the Croydon-born midfielder.
Coming into the new season with a clear head and fresh mindset may be what he needs to get over the problems that have faced him for the past couple of years.
Fulham are gaining an undoubtably talented player who, if he can overcome his injury issues, will be a top signing - and, for £35m, it may prove to be a steal in years to come.
