Alex Iwobi reacts with 3-word message after Emile Smith Rowe scores second goal for Fulham in pre-season since joining from Arsenal
Alex Iwobi was happy to see his former Arsenal and current Fulham teammate Emile Smith Rowe score against Hoffenheim. The latter secured a club-record £34 million transfer to the Cottagers from the Emirates earlier this month and has since hit the ground running.
Smith Rowe made his unofficial debut in a 2-1 pre-season loss to Sevilla last week, where he grabbed his team's only goal. He then followed it up with a 33rd-minute strike against Hoffenheim in Germany on Saturday (10 August).
Iwobi, who is a Hale End academy graduate like Smith Rowe, created the first goal. He assisted his former Arsenal teammate with a dinked ball over the Hoffenheim defense, with Smith Rowe providing a neat first-time finishing touch from a tough angle.
Iwobi can be heard shouting "That's my guy" to Smith Rowe in a video posted by Fulham's official X account of the goal's celebration. The two, of course, spent nine years on the club's books together and shared the pitch thrice for the senior team before Iwobi was sold to Everton in 2019.
Four years later, Fulham brought Iwobi to Crave Cottage for a £22 million fee. One can expect Marco Silva to give the two exciting playmakers plenty of first-team minutes as his team looks to match or better last year's 13th-place finish.
Fulham's pre-season is now over and they will now begin their Premier League campaign takes
Former Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe 'excited' by Fulham project
Emile Smith Rowe explained that he chose to join Fulham from Arsenal as he was excited about the project under Marco Silva. The Cottagers were relegated to the Championship in the 2020-21 season but won the league the following season to return to the Premier League.
Since then, they have managed a more-than-respectable 10th and 13th-place finishes, respectively. In comments furnished after his transfer was made official, Smith Rowe said (via BBC):
"I'm finally here, so I'm really happy for me and my family - it's a good moment. I'm really excited, I just wanted to get here as quickly as possible so I could get going with my team-mates. Listening to the project, speaking to the manager [Marco Silva], and seeing what players we have here already, I think it's an exciting project for me, and definitely the perfect step for my career going forward."
The London-born midfielder, who has been capped thrice by England, left Arsenal after registering 13 goals and 18 assists in 115 senior games.