The exquisitely-named Emile Smith Rowe announced himself on the senior stage for Arsenal on Thursday, with the 17-year-old scoring a stunning solo goal during the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in Singapore.
The International Champions Cup game saw both sides put out mix and match sides, with new Arsenal signings Bernd Leno and Matteo Guendouzi starting and Sokratis Papastathopoulos coming on as a sub.
Luciano Vietto opened the scoring for the Spaniards on 41 minutes, with a fine improvised header.
However, early in the second-half, attacking midfielder Smith Rowe netted a stunner, slaloming through the Atletico backline before unleashing a thumping shot from the edge of the box.
Quite a fine goal from the Arsenal academy product.
Disappointing not to get the result we deserved tonight, but on a personal note it was a dream come true to get the opportunity to make my senior debut!⚽Thank you for all the messages!❤ @Arsenal #COYG
— Emile Smith Rowe (@emilesmithrowe_) July 26, 2018
Alas, Atletico would go on to win the clash, via a rather feeble penalty shootout which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Joe Willock and Edward Nketiah all miss for the Gunners before goalkeeper Antonio Adan fired home to seal the victory for Atletico.
However, Arsenal boss Unai Emery will be pleased with the performance of Smith Rowe, with fellow youngsters Guendouzi and Reiss Nelson also impressing.