Talk about Emile Smith Rowe has quietened since the attacking midfielder left Arsenal to sign for Fulham.
The Arsenal academy graduate was once a firm starter under Mikel Arteta, even being awarded the number ten shirt.
Arteta said it was tough to let Smith Rowe leave Arsenal for good in 2024, but the decision was made to open a door for the playmaker, who had slipped down the pecking order.
Smith Rowe’s incredible breakthrough in 2021/22 now seems like a distant memory, as the 25-year-old isn’t even a starter at Fulham.
Henry Winter compares Emile Smith Rowe’s development to Bukayo Saka’s
Things haven’t always been such a struggle for the Englishman, as only a year ago, Paul Merson backed Smith Rowe to return to the England squad.
This season has started in a way that very few would’ve expected when the midfielder broke through at Arsenal alongside Bukayo Saka.
Smith Rowe is averaging only 21 minutes per game in the Premier League this campaign, and Henry Winter thinks he knows why the former Gunner has struggled to maintain his breakthrough season form.
“Emile Smith Rowe. I mean, what a good player he was in that breakthrough season at Arsenal,” Winter said on talkSPORT.
“The Smith Rowe and Saka song. Saka trained on [and] Smith Rowe hasn’t completely. Maybe it’s because he lacks that edge of pace.”
Winter seems to think that Smith Rowe’s lack of pace is a contributing factor to the former England international not following a similar trajectory to Saka, but there’s a far more glaring reason.
Fitness issues are Smith Rowe’s real problem
Since joining Fulham in August 2024, Smith Rowe hasn’t completed a single 90 minutes under Marco Silva.
Fitness is a clear problem for the playmaker, who actually had to address the issue when he was at Arsenal.
In 2021, Arteta suggested that Smith Rowe had changed some of his lifestyle habits, which, when speaking to reporters, the player suspected was about his diet.
“I think what he was talking about was my diet, I didn’t eat that well, to be honest,” Smith Rowe said.
“I used to get cramp after 60 minutes and stuff. I wasn’t eating great, I wasn’t drinking that well, before games I wasn’t really that hydrated, but since then I’ve tried to focus so much on it.”
It’s unclear what Smith Rowe’s issue is now, but it’s clear that the 25-year-old is lacking fitness, with his inability to complete 90 minutes in over a year quite a shock.
The talent that the Hale Ender has is unquestionable, but whether he can truly reach his full potential is another matter.
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