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Arsenal’s £27m sale is good business as struggling star ‘borderline Sunday League level’
It was a tale of three former Arsenal players during a tightly-contested Premier League clash over the weekend.
One who scored a superb solo goal. One who made a massive difference when stepping off the bench. And another who’s eye-watering price-tag is threatening to get heavier by the week, the most expensive of the ex-Gunners trio also the most ineffective.
Everton boss Sean Dyche highlighted the talents of Fulham winger Alex Iwobi in his pre-match press conference.
In an ideal world, Dyche would have retained Iwobi’s services at Goodison Park. But, one year after Everton accepted a £22 million bid from The Cottagers, the Arsenal academy graduate marked his Merseyside return with a fine drilled finish after a jinking run into the final third.
Pep Guardiola believes Iwobi is playing the best football of his career – speaking ahead of Man City’s nervy 3-2 win over Fulham a month ago – and it was difficult to disagree on this evidence.
Reiss Nelson, meanwhile, added to his collection of chaos-inducing cameos in a Fulham shirt.
The fan site even gave Nelson the Man of the Match award despite spending only 22 minutes on the pitch at Goodison, the former Arsenal benchwarmer again showcasing his ‘star quality’ albeit in small bursts.
But it’s fair to say the Cottagers faithful were not quite as complimentary about another who crossed the London divide over the summer, leaving the North for a fresh start in the West.
Former Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe questioned at Fulham
“When is our ‘star signing’ going to find his way in a Fulham shirt?,” Fulhamish ask after Emile Smith Rowe fired over from close range in another largely anonymous attacking display from the £27 million club-record signing.
Now, the 4.5 out of 10 rating bestowed upon Smith Rowe may feel a little harsh to those who only viewed Fulham’s display via the highlight packages.
Especially as Arsenal’s former number ten surged away from Dwight McNeil, Jack Harrison and Ashley Young to set up fellow London Colney graduate Iwobi.
But, as Fulhamish explain in their post-match autopsy, that little glimpse of swaggering self-confidence is made all the more frustrating by what was, apart from that rare moment of quality, a performance full of misplaced passes and unforced errors.
Reiss Nelson overshadowing Smith Rowe at Fulham
“What he did for our goal, beating men in the opposition half and creating dangerous chances for his side, is what he should always do,” they write. “Sadly in this game, it was a one off. For the other 78 minutes in which he played, every first touch and forward pass was borderline Sunday league level.
“[Smith Rowe] played lethargically and without precision. Another that simply must improve.”
Of course, after lengthy injury absences and a season spent largely on the bench, those hoping Smith Rowe would explode out of the blocks at Fulham may have been guilty of expecting too much too soon.
But, in what was his ninth Premier League appearance under Marco Silva and his eighth start, the concern is that Smith Rowe’s influence appears to be waning by the week.
The opposite is true of Nelson. And, after adding 20 more dazzling minutes to the bank, Silva could be forgiven for swapping one former Arsenal youngster for another when Fulham host London neighbours Brentford next weekend.
“Reiss has been making an impact off the bench. I’m sure he’s going to get his chance [to start] soon,” Iwobi said a few days ago. “We see his qualities in training.
“He glides past people and makes things happen on the pitch.”