Fulham midfielder Emile Smith Rowe admits that the reunion with his boyhood club Arsenal was the first fixture he looked for after signing for the Whites this summer.
The England international has swept any sentiment aside and told the national press that he is fully focused on making sure that Marco Silva’s side take all three points at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a massive game for me personally. 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.”
Smith Rowe highlighted England winger Bukayo Saka as someone he is looking forward to catching up with this weekend.
“Great person. 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.”
The midfielder also discussed the similarities between Mikel Arteta and Silva.
“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.”
