Arsenal Early years in 2021. Smith Rowe joined Arsenal's
Hale End Academy in 2010 at the age of ten, after playing for South London-based team
Glebe. He made his first appearance for the Under-23s in 2016–17, at the age of 16. He continued in the Under-23s during the 2017–18 season, making 10 appearances for the side, recorded 2 assists and 1 goal. He signed his first professional contract with the club on 31 July 2017. Smith Rowe signed a new long-term professional contract with Arsenal on 31 July 2018, when he was described by head coach
Unai Emery as having "lots of potential". The length of the contract was not disclosed by Arsenal, but it was reported to be five years. Smith Rowe made his Arsenal first-team competitive debut on 20 September 2018 against
Vorskla Poltava in the
UEFA Europa League, coming on as a second-half substitute for
Alex Iwobi. His appearance was the first Arsenal professional debut by a player born in the 2000s. He scored after starting the following
Europa League match against
Qarabağ in a 3–0 victory for Arsenal, becoming the youngest Arsenal goalscorer in a competitive match since
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2011, and the first player born after 2000 to score for the London club. He scored his first goal at the
Emirates in a 2–1 victory over
Blackpool in the
EFL Cup.
2018–2020: Loans to RB Leipzig and Huddersfield Town On 31 January 2019, he joined
RB Leipzig on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. After signing, Leipzig discovered that Smith Rowe was not fully recovered from a groin injury. Leipzig manager
Ralf Rangnick said: "He will not be fully training with us in the next two to three weeks". On 10 January 2020, Smith Rowe joined
EFL Championship club
Huddersfield Town on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season. Huddersfield manager
Danny Cowley responded to supporters' wishes for Smith Rowe to play more minutes by stating: "We have to be very protective of him which none of us like. I actually boo myself when I take him off, because it's not something I want to do." On 1 February, Smith Rowe scored his first goal for Huddersfield in a 3–2 league defeat to
Fulham. Smith Rowe's performance at Huddersfield caught the eye of many. In particular, in his final home appearance for the club, he scored the winning goal in the 86th minute against
West Brom that would eventually help Huddersfield to secure EFL Championship safety.
2020–2022: First-team breakthrough On 29 August 2020, Smith Rowe was named an unused substitute in the
2020 FA Community Shield, in which Arsenal defeated Premier League winners Liverpool 5–4 on penalties after the match finished 1–1 in 90 minutes. Following his return to Arsenal, Smith Rowe struggled with injuries before returning to fitness in the autumn. Although he performed well in Arsenal's
Europa League group fixtures, scoring or assisting in each of his matches, he did not start any of Arsenal's league matches in October or November. Following Arsenal's worst league start in decades, manager
Mikel Arteta entrusted Smith Rowe with the
number 10 role, replacing
Willian on 26 December against
London rivals Chelsea, to inspire a 3–1 home win to end the club's poor run of form. In his next five matches, Smith Rowe recorded three assists and scored a goal in a 2–0 FA Cup victory over Newcastle United. On 14 March 2021, Smith Rowe played in the
North London derby for the first time and delivered a
man of the match performance in a 2–1 win over
Tottenham Hotspur. On 9 May, Smith Rowe scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 home win over
West Bromwich Albion. On 12 May, Smith Rowe scored the only goal in an away win over Chelsea, sealing the Gunners' first win at
Stamford Bridge in nearly 10 years and Arsenal's first league double over the Blues since
2004. On 22 July 2021, Smith Rowe ended months of speculation by signing a long-term deal with the club, reported to be a five-year contract. He was also handed the number 10 shirt for the new season, previously vacated by
Mesut Özil. The fans wholeheartedly embraced him, often chanting his and Bukayo Saka's names to the tune of 'Rocking All Over the World' by Status Quo. On 26 September, Smith Rowe scored a goal and recorded an assist in a 3–1 win over rivals Tottenham. their 2–0 victory over
Leicester City on 30 October, and the only goal in a 1–0 win over
Watford on 7 November. On 5 December 2021, Smith Rowe would score his 5th league goal of the season in a 3–2 away defeat against
Manchester United, later coming off injured with a tight groin which sidelined him for several matches. He would later make his return from injury with a substitute appearance against
West Ham on 15 December, scoring in a 2–0 win at the
Emirates. Smith Rowe would again go on to score as a substitute in the following league games against
Leeds United and
Norwich City. On 19 February 2022, Smith Rowe scored the opening goal against
Brentford in a 2–1 home win. The goal, his tenth of the
2021–22 season, made him the first Hale End graduate since
Cesc Fàbregas in
2009–10 to hit double figures in a season.
2022–2024: Limited opportunities At the start of the
2022–23 season, Smith Rowe struggled with a groin injury. He had surgery to fix the problem and was unable to play for the first half of the season. He recovered, and was included in the squad in the latter half of the season. On 4 March 2023, he came on in the first half against
Bournemouth for the injured
Leandro Trossard and provided an assist for
Thomas Partey. Smith Rowe would himself be replaced by
Reiss Nelson, who scored the winning goal in the 97th minute as Arsenal recovered from going 2–0 down to win 3–2. Smith Rowe struggled with injury throughout the 2022-23 season, making just 12 league appearances as the Gunners finished Premier League runners-up to
Manchester City. On 6 August 2023, Smith Rowe made his first appearance of the
2023–24 season, coming on as a late substitute during Arsenal's victory over Manchester City in the
2023 FA Community Shield. Later that month, Smith Rowe was subject to a transfer enquiry from London rivals
Chelsea. However, Arsenal insisted that Smith Rowe was not for sale, with club manager
Mikel Arteta confirming in a press conference that Arsenal had no intention of selling Smith Rowe, despite his limited playing opportunities. Smith Rowe made his 100th first-team appearance for Arsenal on 27 September 2023 in their 1–0 win at
Brentford in the
EFL Cup. It was his first start for the club since May 2022. On 28 October 2023, Smith Rowe made his first Premier League start of the season in Arsenal's 5–0 home win over
Sheffield United, assisting teammate
Eddie Nketiah in the 58th minute, helping him complete a hat-trick. His next start for Arsenal came in a 2–0 win against
Luton Town on 3 April 2024, where he was named man of the match after being integral in the creation of both Arsenal's goals.
Fulham Smith Rowe joined
Fulham on a 5-year contract on 2 August 2024 for a club-record reported fee of £27 million with £7 million in potential add-ons. He made his Fulham debut in a 1–0 loss against
Manchester United in the league. His home debut on 24 August 2024 saw his first goal in over two years in a 2–1 win against
Leicester City. ==International career==