Emile Smith-Rowe is already showing that Fulham can be the place where he delivers on his potential following his £34m summer move from Arsenal.
The 24-year-old opened the scoring in Fulham’s 2-1 win over Leicester City with a fine run and finish before another former Arsenal man Alex Iwobi sealed the win after Wout Faes had controversially equalised for Leicester.
Smith-Rowe endured a frustrating end to his time at boyhood club Arsenal – playing just 13 Premier League games in the last campaign as a combination of injury and increased competition for places meant his game time was limited.
But after seeking a fresh start in the form of a move across London this summer, the Englishman is already showing that he can be the man to help take Fulham to the next level.
“The last season he didn’t play football, and two seasons ago. I think it’s the first goal in the Premier League in two years for him as well,” Silva said after Fulham’s victory.
“He needs these types of moments to boost his confidence. He’s far from his best in a physical point of view. Performance wise he’s going to improve, he’s going to know us better and the way we play, he’s going to adapt more and his body for the hard competition that is the Premier League.
“We are going to see better from him in the future for sure.”
If there is indeed to be plenty more to come from Smith-Rowe, then Fulham fans have reason to be excited given that the attacking midfielder is already playing a significant part in their team winning games.
He gave his side a deserved lead against Leicester on 18 minutes, latching onto an Adama Traore pass and brilliantly controlling the ball to take him through on goal with Mads Hermansen before calmly slotting past the away goalkeeper.
But it looked as though a flurry of wasted chances might cost Silva’s side victory when Faes levelled matters by heading in from Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte’s corner before half-time. The goal was originally disallowed for an offside call on Jamie Vardy, who was deemed to have been blocking goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s line of sight while stood in an offside position, before a VAR check saw the decision reversed.
But Fulham had another Arsenal old boy to thank for opening their home campaign with a win when Antonee Robinson sent Iwobi racing through on goal down the left before finding the net via a deflection off Hermansen.
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