Arsenal star was once “like Dennis Bergkamp”, then Arteta sold him

Bukayo Saka is Arsenal‘s attacking linchpin, having risen from the lower levels of Hale End to establish himself as one of football’s biggest talents.

Mikel Arteta deserves so much praise for resurrecting the Emirates Stadium and putting Arsenal back in contention for the biggest prizes in the game, though you can’t help but feel that had Saka not emerged, things wouldn’t have fallen into place just so.

Hailed as “one of the best players in the Premier League” by Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney, the England star has already scored a goal and posted four assists from as many matches in the Premier League this season as the Gunners aim to topple Manchester City on the throne.

Saka, aged 23, is one of the finest players to emerge from Arsenal’s academy, but he’s not the only one to make his mark under Arteta’s wing.

Indeed, there was a fellow north Londoner who, not too long ago, carried the same prodigious potential as his friend, but Emile Smith Rowe no longer plays for Arsenal and dreams of becoming a superstar under Arteta’s guidance have faded away.

What was once said about Emile Smith Rowe

Smith Rowe, 24, made his senior debut for Arsenal at home in the Europa League against Vorskla Poltava in September 2018, scarcely one month into his 18th year. Incidentally, Saka also made his debut against the Ukrainian side, though his debut arrived two months later in the away fixture of the group phase.

A versatile, creative and cultured attacking midfielder, Smith Rowe has featured across a range of roles but is at his multi-talented best when deployed as a roaming number ten.

Blessed with crisp technical qualities and sharp intelligence, the Englishman was regarded as a playmaker who could have bloomed into the focal creative role in north London, even being praised by pundit Jamie Carragher in the past as the “best player in the league running with the ball at his feet”.

Arsenal’s resurgence of the past several years was swept forward by a tide of improvements. The transfer strategy was streamlined and the Spanish manager’s tactics dovetailed into the overarching vision. Now, Arsenal have finished second across the past two Premier League campaigns and pushed Pep Guardiola’s City to the brink on both occasions.

Smith Rowe, sadly, played nothing more than a bit-part role, with his glittering beginnings dulled by injuries and Arteta’s stylistic preferences, this latter issue had arisen from his fitness struggles, in fairness, precluding him from building the form and fluency to play a starring part.

The 2021/22 campaign was a year of significant strides for Arsenal. It ended in misery as a late-season slump pulled the club away from a top-four finish and handed Champions League football to arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but it was clear that something was being built.

Smith Rowe was instrumental, scoring ten top-flight goals and leading Danny Cowley, who coached him while on loan at Huddersfield Town, to remark that he “has potential to be world-class” and is “like Dennis Bergkamp but with pace”.

Having earned the nickname ‘the Croydon [Kevin] De Bruyne‘ in his home borough, you’d have a decent understanding of the player’s quality without actually watching him play. But you must. It’s an artistic pleasure.

He plays with a sort of footballing poetic license, not stuck in one role but performing with unfettered freedom, gliding past defenders and wreaking chaos with sharp shooting and silky passing.

He carried the No. 10 embossed on the back of his shirt, like Bergkamp, one of his heroes. The retired Dutch maestro is one of the Premier League’s finest-ever forwards. A dignified and elegant player, Bergkamp’s close control and dribbling were truly first-class, capable of conjuring magical things at Highbury.

Smith Rowe will probably watch back at these past two years ruefully. He’s an immense talent and beloved by the Arsenal faithful, but he’s gained little from staying on the periphery of Arteta’s high-flying squad.

As hard as it was, selling him this summer was probably the right decision.

Smith Rowe is reborn at Fulham

The best things in life are the most difficult to let go. But Fulham paid Arsenal an initial fee of £27m, rising to £34m with add-ons, for the one-cap England international. The Gunners’ club-record sale – ever – is the £35m transfer of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017.

And now he’s flying. Smith Rowe has only played five matches for the Cottagers in the Premier League so far but he’s scored twice and assisted another.

As per Sofascore, he’s completed 91% of his passes in the Premier League this term, also averaging 0.8 interceptions and 1.8 tackles per game, emphasising that technical skill and tenacity.

Will Arsenal ever see their former prospect playing at the Emirates in red once again? Who knows, but he has been promising throughout the opening weeks of the 2024/25 campaign and will only improve as the matches go by, building form and fluidness under Marco Silva.

Given that the club recouped some £27m for his sale despite having scarcely enjoyed his ability over the past few years, it can only be regarded as a successful move.

But Bergkamp 2.0 once promised so much, looked to be the future superstar at the nucleus of Arteta’s project. Given the regard Arsenal fans hold him in, there will be plenty of hope from north London that he reaches that lofty level, even if it’s not on the grass that the outfit had hoped for.