Mikel Arteta has expressed his sadness following the departure of Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham for £34m. The 24-year-old midfielder, who spent 14 years with Arsenal, becomes the club’s most expensive academy-grown sale. Fulham will pay £27m upfront with an additional £7m in add-ons.
Smith Rowe, who made only 25 Premier League appearances since August 2022, is set to debut in a friendly against Sevilla on Monday. Arteta, who relied on Smith Rowe in his early years at Arsenal, praised his commitment and energy, acknowledging the player’s need for regular first-team football. Sporting Director Edu echoed these sentiments, highlighting Smith Rowe’s development through Arsenal’s academy and his significant impact on the first team.
This transfer sets a club-record fee for Fulham and is Arsenal’s biggest sale since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s move to Liverpool in 2017. Arsenal plans to reinvest, having already spent £42m on Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori, and are in talks for Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino.
Emile Smith Rowe
This season he played in total 13 times for 346 minutes for Premier League.
Emile Smith Rowe didn’t score any goal for Arsenal. He procured one assist. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 2nd in Premier League. In the last match Arsenal lost 2-1 against Liverpool.
Fulham performance and stats
It will be Fulham ended the league in the 14th position with 44 points.
In the last 38 games, it has won 13 times, drawn 9 times, and lost 16 times. In its last match, Fulham won 2-4 against Luton Town.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 51 goals and conceding 59.