Emile Smith Rowe: I was on the beach last month – now I’ve scored for Arsenal

A week before his 18th birthday, the kit man at Arsenal told Emile Smith Rowe he would be travelling with the first team to Singapore. Two days prior to the big day, he made a goalscoring debut against Atlético Madrid. And, on the day itself, he starred in Arsenal’s 5-1 drubbing of Paris Saint-Germain.

After signing a five-year contract extension today at his boyhood club, Smith Rowe is celebrating in a north London steakhouse, still dressed in his Puma tracksuit. “Definitely the best week of my life,” he says, grinning.

Standing in the tunnel alongside Atlético’s players, he was realising a dream he’d held since joining Arsenal’s academy at nine years old. “I always get nervous before any game until I get on the pitch.