'He made the fans and team click': Mikel Arteta expresses Emile Smith Rowe regret after Arsenal exit

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·23 August 2024

'He made the fans and team click': Mikel Arteta expresses Emile Smith Rowe regret after Arsenal exit

The academy graduate was a key player during Mikel Arteta’s early days as manager

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has expressed his regret at not getting the best out of Emile Smith Rowe.

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The midfielder, who came through Arsenal’s academy, left the club this summer to join Fulham as part of a deal that could eventually be worth £34million.

Smith Rowe burst onto the scene during the 2020-21 season, but he slipped down the pecking order at Emirates Stadium and played fewer than 400 minutes in the Premier League last season.

The 24-year-old is one of several academy players who could leave Arsenal this summer, including Eddie Nketiah, and Arteta admitted it is sad to see them go.

He was the player that made our supporters and the team click, in a way. I don’t know how to explain it but that was my feeling

Mikel Arteta on

“When I had the talk with Emile, I really felt it,” he said. “First of all, because I have huge gratitude because he came into the team at a tough moment.

“I think he was the player that made our supporters and the team click, in a way. I don’t know how to explain it but that was my feeling. Something changed when he came in the team. He created a different energy straight away.

Emile Smith Rowe made his debut for Fulham last week

AP

“And I have a feeling like ‘argh’, that I have not got the best out of him. Obviously a lot of things happened in that time.

“From my side it was really sad, because I know how those boys feel when they are in that building, how hard everyone works to get them close to the first team, so I feel a huge responsibility to give them the chance. And now, can they sustain this level and make us better? That is the idea.”