Emile Smith Rowe wasted two years of his career at Arsenal - but Fulham transfer offers 'Croydon De Bruyne' a route back to the top

After that Chelsea result, Smith Rowe cemented his standing as one of Arteta's most trusted lieutenants. In the 23 Premier League games that followed, Arsenal would be defeated just five times, having lost eight of their opening 14 prior to his introduction.

His importance to the cause was not lost on his manager, either. Speaking about Smith Rowe and Saka's remarkable rise followin a 3-0 victory over Newcastle in January, Arteta beamed: "I know what they are capable of doing. They put a smile on my face. That is merit to them and their team-mates," he told Sky Sports.

"Their performances were extraordinary. The expectation will be high with them so we have to take them through the right path. It's a mixture of energy, passion and a little bit of immaturity at times, which is good as you don't play as tense. They did really well."

Arsenal's strong end to the season eventually propelled them to an eight-placed finish - which was enough to buy Arteta another season of rebuilding. And Smith Rowe would continue to be a major part of his plans moving forward.

After a slow start to the 2021-22 campaign, Arsenal sprung to life in the North London derby - and Smith Rowe had an exceptional afternoon. Playing off the left wing, he was allowed to float around thanks to the presence of the free-flying and width-providing Kieran Tierney. It didn't take him long to make the most of his freedom, either, as Smith Rowe arrived perfectly in the box to convert Saka's cutback in the 12th minutes.

A quarter-hour later, he turned provider. After galloping past Japhet Tanganga, he spotted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and rolled a pinpoint cross into his path to help make it 2-0. Arsenal would go on to secure a 3-1 victory and, following a string of similarly influential displays that autumn, Smith Rowe received the honour of his life: a senior England call up.

"I didn’t know what to do. I was star struck at the time. I was stuttering, I didn’t know what to say. I just said ‘Oh wow, thank you so much'," he recalled ahead of his maiden Three Lions cap against Albania, where he came on to replace Raheem Sterling with the team already 5-0 up. He'd even get a start against San Marino a few days later, scoring and assisting in a 10-0 thumping of the minnows.

At club level, progress off the pitch was being made too, as Smith Rowe looked to transition from exciting talent to consistent Premier League difference-maker.

"I didn’t used to eat that well," he told The Guardian around the time of his England honours. "I wasn’t drinking that well. Before games, I wasn’t really that hydrated. I’ve tried now to focus so much on it. Arsenal are strict but I didn’t really listen, to be honest. I think that’s where I went wrong. Now I’m listening all the time."

The Gunners clearly saw Smith Rowe as an important part of their future, even paying for a private chef to cook for him and his mother, while he himself made the ultimate sacrifice by cutting down on Nando's and chocolate.

Having committed to a healthier lifestyle, and with Arteta still singing his praise in the press, it felt like the only way was up for Smith Rowe in summer 2022. However, everything would change after one fateful transfer window.

Admittedly, there had been a few hints that Smith Rowe's status as a starter was under threat the previous year, with Martin Odegaard emerging as his manager's most-trusted No.10 and Martinelli proving difficult to shift from the left-wing spot. But if you'd told Arsenal fans around this time that he would scarcely contribute to the team again, they would have struggled to believe you.

In hindsight, we should have seen the decline coming. The arrival of the inverting Oleksandr Zinchenko in July 2022 spelled the end of Tierney's first-team chances, with Smith Rowe only ever really working as a left-sided forward when he had a full-back overlapping him.

Meanwhile, Arteta effectively doing away with an out-and-out No.10 in his new system meant Smith Rowe's best chance of minutes in 2022-23 were going to come as a left-sided No.8. It's a role he never seemed a snug fit for, and Xhaka's exceptional form soon dispelled any notions that he'd be first choice.

Smith Rowe's prospects where further harmed by a string of niggling injuries that campaign. He missed the opening stages of the season with a groin problem, and once he was fit again, Arsenal were leading the title race, meaning opportunities to break into the fold were at a premium.

Last season was a similar story. After opting to remain at the Emirates, despite rumours linking him with a move away, Smith Rowe would start just four games in all competitions. When he was involved, he fared pretty well. But considering his electric start to life as a Gunner, it was hard not to feel like this period of stagnation would have been much better spent elsewhere.

Now 24, it's abundantly clear that Smith Rowe needs to get out of north London if he's ever going to come close to living up to his potential. And, finally, it appears Arteta has given the green light for the player once dubbed 'the Croydon De Bruyne' to move on.

After Smith Rowe was omitted from the Arsenal side that drew with Bournemouth in pre-season, the Spaniard said: "There are things happening in the background and we decided the best thing to do was keep him away from the game today."

Fulham eventually won the race, despite interest from Crystal Palace, with the Cottagers paying around £35 million ($45m) for his services. It's a sad end. A sizeable crop of the Gunners fanbase have remained smitten with Smith Rowe throughout his lengthy spell on the bench, and Arteta has attracted some criticism for his failure to find him a significant spot in the rotation.

It's hard to question Arteta's judgement, though. Since Smith Rowe's disappearance from the first team, Arsenal have failed to win just 22 of their 76 Premier League matches. Initially Xhaka, Odegaard and Martinelli proved impossible for him to displace in the side, while the emergence of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and even Leandro Trossard more recently meant it was going to be difficult for Smith Rowe to get consistent minutes.

Arteta summed up the tricky situation neatly back in September last year, saying: "There’s been many reasons why he hasn’t started a match. He was out for a long, long time. He needs time on the pitch and he needs opportunities and we want to provide that to him. Then he needs to prove it like anybody else on the field that he deserves to play."

A move to Fulham does at least provide Smith Rowe with a chance of redemption. On paper, Craven Cottage seems like a pretty ideal fit. Marco Silva is a firm believer in his 4-2-3-1 system, a formation which has facilitated the best football of his new arrival's career.

With Bobby De Cordova-Reid departing and Willian's future in serious doubt, space in the squad has opened up for Smith Rowe to recreate some of the left-sided magic he enjoyed with Tierney during his early Arsenal career. Antonee Robinson has a similarly attack-minded approach to the Scot, while the addition of Ryan Sessegnon provides the ex-Gunner with another flying full-back to combine with.

Smith Rowe could be used centrally too. His close control, pace and directness is well suited to the transitional nature of Silva's attacking gameplan whenever Andreas Pereira is not available. They'll also be a much-needed sense of Smith Rowe being the main man. Fulham have broken their transfer record to sign him, in what is a momentous endorsement of his talent at a time when it's only natural that his confidence may be low.

That should help him regain his smile after a testing two years, and provided he can settle swiftly in his new surroundings, there's little to stop him adding to his three England caps ahead of the World Cup in 2026.

Smith Rowe will have already circled April 1 in his calendar. That's when he should make his return to the Emirates as a Fulham player. He'll no doubt get a warm welcome back too. When things were at their bleakest, he shined brightest for the Gunners, but the harsh reality is that his boyhood club simply outgrew him in pursuit of tangible success.