Crystal Palace boss says Nketiah and Smith Rowe are still falling short of their potential

Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage has publicly challenged Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe to close the gap between their ability and their output, suggesting both former Arsenal academy products have yet to reach the levels once expected of them.

Sage made the remarks after Nketiah scored the winner in Palace’s Carabao Cup victory over Fulham — a result that brought the two ex-Gunners face to face for the first time since leaving north London. Despite the goal, the Frenchman was candid about his striker’s inconsistency.

“I think his potential is higher than his performance for the moment and we have to reduce this gap because he needs it and because the team needs it,” Sage said. “First of all, when you have the talent and you have the skills in you it’s a mental thing. You have to be quiet, you have to be determined and you have to find the balance between these two things.”

Sage also turned his attention to Smith Rowe, who joined Fulham in the summer of 2024 in search of regular minutes. “I know another player in the other team, Smith Rowe, and I think it’s similar. Because it’s a big potential and now he is not at his level of what we saw before.”

Both players came through Arsenal’s academy and were handed opportunities under Mikel Arteta, each producing flashes of quality — Smith Rowe scoring 11 goals in his standout 2021-22 campaign — but neither managed to cement a starting role as the club invested heavily in their positions. Nketiah scored 38 goals for the Gunners before departing, while the arrivals of Martin Ødegaard and others gradually pushed Smith Rowe to the margins.

Arteta himself acknowledged some responsibility for Smith Rowe’s stalled development. “I have a feeling like ‘argh’, that I have not got the best out of him,” the Arsenal manager previously admitted. “Obviously a lot of things happened in that time.”

Now both players are in their mid-20s and established at mid-table Premier League clubs, the window for fulfilling their early promise is narrowing. Sage’s comments suggest patience remains, but the expectation is that the performances must follow.