Sunday’s match against Arsenal was naturally one that caught the eye of Emile Smith Rowe when he swapped North for South-West London in the summer.
Having spent a decade with the Gunners, Smith Rowe naturally has a lot of affection for the club, but he’s fully focused on sending them away from Craven Cottage disappointed this weekend.
“It’s a massive game for me personally,” he said. “At the start of the season, in my head I’ve always been thinking about playing against my former team. It’s going to be an exciting game.
“I think it’s going to be a bit weird, knowing the players for so long, and having been there for a lot of my life, so it probably is going to be a bit of an emotional day.
“But I have to make sure I do the job for Fulham.”
One person who Smith Rowe was particularly close to at the Emirates was Bukayo Saka, having risen through the Hale End ranks together.
“Great person,” ESR said of his former teammate. “We’ve been so close for such a long time.
“He was one of my closest friends at Arsenal when I was there, so I can’t really speak highly enough of him. Unbelievable professional, does all the right things to stay fit and perform at the highest level.
“He’s kind of like a little brother, so I’m really proud of him.”
Fulham managed to get the better of Arsenal over our two meetings last season, drawing at the Emirates before winning 2-1 at the Cottage on New Year’s Eve.
They were both tight battles, though, and when asked how similar Marco Silva and Mikel Arteta are, Smith Rowe replied: “I’d probably say they’re both very demanding.
“They’re very tactical and they know what they want every game. It’s very clear to the players how they want to play, so I’d say they’re probably quite similar in that aspect.
“But they’re different as well. How they play is different, so there are similarities, but also differences as well.”
