Arsene Wenger’s big mistake by Lazyboy
Benik Afobe was a serial goal scorer at Arsenal’s youth level and while out on loan in League One. He was sold last January for a rumoured £2m to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers where he continued his scoring prowess (13 goals in 21 apps). In selling Afobe Wenger has shown his hand. He is not willing to wait for a striker to develop enduring their peaks and troughs along their development cycle. He wants a proven 20+ goals a season striker right away. With highly sort after Paulo Dybala – a young, unproven at the highest level striker with great talent and potential remaining in Italy with Juventus, Wenger is now looking to buy a name we all would be familiar with, be it Benzema, Higuain, etc (at the right price of course) or make do with what he has moving Theo Walcott centrally.
But I am getting off topic…
In the near 19 years of Arsene Wenger and until May 2014 Liam Brady running the youth system at Arsenal I cannot remember them releasing/selling a youth team player that has gone on to be a world class or even top 4 team player. Can you?
The only ones I can think of note are solid mid table players such as Sebastian Larsson and Mark Noble.
I think Benik Afobe is one the club will regret. Other clubs especially Real Madrid and Barcelona put buy back clauses in their young prospects contracts when they are sold, think of Alvaro Morata (at Juventus) and Gerard Deulofeu (Everton). To my knowledge despite the wishful thinking of some there is not such buy back clause in Afobe’s contract at Wolves.
Other major English clubs have made big mistakes in letting world beaters go, Paul Pogba (Man United), Kevin De Bruyne (Chelsea) and Nemanja Matić (Chelsea) having to be bought back at £21m after being part on the transfer to land David Luiz.
Is Benik Afobe our big mistake?
In this mans opinion Yes.
Lazyboy
If the writer is correct let us see which PL team or top European team picks Benik up in the transfer window. There are a dozen or so players in the 2nd and 3rd tier leagues who have been scoring with similar regularity. For reasons best known to Wenger he prefers taking a punt on Akpom.
Scoring 13 goals in first division is not that impressing and we won’t regret selling afobe. Its not like real and barca are after him. He’s an average cf, nothing special. I don’t we any reason for us to regret.
@seancali
At any other club, he would be bought into the 1st squad after impressing on loan spells…
You ask if this was a mistake, but as it stand, no it isn’t. Yes he has torn apart teams in the lower leagues and has shown great potential, but no he hasn’t proven himself yet. He wasn’t going to feature for the first team for a while so it’s best for him to leave.
Well firstly, mark noble was never an arsenal player, you are probably thinking of David noble.
As for academy players we sold, well I would say Ashley Cole has probably been the most successful.
It does not matter to be honest. Afobe may be a beast in 3 years time but Wenger does not have time on his side. He must pursue the big glory now. After that the following manager can actually buy Afobe back with 20 mils if he’s worth the price. That is the reason we are buying these days “ready made” players. Time is something Wenger does not really have right now.
And speaking of Cech, did anyone noticed that in his farewell letter he did not mention Mourinho at all? He thanks the fans and Abramovich but there’s no word on Maureen. Now we know why he actually left the Bridge.
I have to admit though that my respect for Abramovich increased twofold. The man understands people and football in general. Wish Kroenke was that dedicated.
Now this is the thing Budd, Abramovich actually loves the club he bought, we as Arsenal fans will bang on about the money he has loaned Chelsea but on paper this may be the case but I really don’t think that’s the reality I think for the rich Russian Chelsea is a club he loves and adores and for him its not about the money he puts in or gets out. Kroenke see’s us purely as a business proposition and a cash cow that he puts little into but reaps a lot from theres a huge difference between the two and unfortunately its not in our favour. Many fans bark on about Usmanov NOT really eing a fan and while I realise that he is a businessman first and foremost he IS a football fan far more than Silent Stan as has been proved by his giving money to the Russian FA recently. I view Usmanov as the far lesser of two evils
RA certainly appears to have an affection for CFC – at the Bridge watching most games. But I suspect he would have grown to love any club he bought – not sure his connection goes back much before 2003. And if you are prepared to write-off a £1B worth of loans then the love must run real deep – or he needs somewhere to hide his money! He owns the whole shooting match and difficult to compare him with shareholding board members. Bottom line RA is Chelsea’s biggest strength and biggest weakness, great short-term not so great longer term. Chelsea boys loving it for the past 10 years and good luck to them – but not sure what happens when RA disappears.
You make a valid point there Mr Jonestown but the point I was trying to make is this, RA ttnds the game on a weekly basis he invests in the club Ive no doubt that he is get healthy return in some form or another and perhaps it is way of writing off certain monies et al. However it is clear he is interested and enthusiastic and cares about the club and its success, tell me who on our board seems really too bothered about anything other than 4th spot? theres is little interest from Stan or any other board members the only one ho is vocal is the 2nd majority shareholder. There seems little in the way of interest now I now that difernt clubs do things in diferent ways but you get the feeing from most of the board that its caution caution caution with the Arsenal board and as long as the wheels keep turning (a profit) the board are happy. I just don’t feel that theres the same love in the same way. Are we not in a similar boat with Kroenke ? he could sell his shares for millins and leave us with a majority shareholder who care even less than e does
I don’t disagree regarding the seeming lack of interest/passion from our board but honestly, for me I don’t need to see them cheering and getting too involved in the footballing side of things. I see an indulgent mega rich sole owner as something of a double-edged sword – there are clear upsides but there are obviously huge potential downsides. I actually don’t have a problem with a separation of duties and functions – the board looking after the business (and easy to forget that primarily that is what it is – a business) and the manager/coaching staff/players/fans bringing the passion. At least with an executive board there are some checks and measures – whereas Abramovich can basically do what he wants, as evidenced by the Cech saga and his many other run-ins with his managers before. I do not want Arsenal ever to become someone’s personal plaything/possession.
Better move on Arsene Thank God the lights are on in Jonestown!
@MDOwn&Budd
Dude had 32 goals from 51 appearances in all competitions. Regardless of what team or in what league he rolled out for. Now imagine if he had been playing either RW or CF in our 1st team with Ozil and Santi serving him perfect through passes. He plays better with back to goal than “ANYONE” of our current forwards save Alexis. He’s more clinical, more powerful and quicker than Olivier, Welbeck, Sanogo, Gnabry and Ox.
Some on here making fun of the fact that he scored in the Championship and League 1. Yet they’re ready to throw stupid money after players from the Portuguese League, Ligue1 in France, some bottom teams in La Liga and even the Scottish League. The Championship is as tough or tougher than anyone of those leagues.
Dude couldn’t even get a look into the 1st squad. Which I find appalling, given that we’re still waiting on injury prone players like Ox, Jack, Sanogo and Gnabry to come good. But hey, time is something AW does not have on his side…SMFH.
Spot on article though. Thanks for putting it out there…
Portuguese League gave 30+ European Titles (UCL,UEFA, CWC, Super CUp etc). Not sure why this does not qualify as a strong league.
But as I say, it does not matter if Afobe is a good prospect or not. A prospect is not something what Wenger needs now. He’s running out of time. That’s the idea. I really have no opinion on Afobe (maybe smiling when I remember what he did to Manure).
@Budd
Yet, we’re still waiting for the walkin wounded to come good.
Thought he was released, isn’t it?
remember seeing ny gunner on here relentlessly asking for afobe back. from the little ive seen of him ..he looks a prospect, a real talent, only were now contenders we need ready made strikers.
can u imagine how dumb fergie feels about pogba-
thats 70-80 mill united gave away to italy…. thats alot of neapolitan ice cream
he could have bought the tower of pisa…an stopped it leaning for that money
@muffdiver
I think dude is more than a prospect. Had he been given as much game time as some of the walking wounded, we more than likely would not have needed Welbeck…
Bad call AW. Very bad call…
As the saying goes ‘Nobody is Perfect’. We all make mistakes at some point in our life. No regrets in life’ only lessons. Just like other managers, Wenger has made some mistakes and He has also done some amazing transfers and made some players turn to worldclass….
The regretful first eight games of last season is a lesson ill never forget. Nice saying by the way, No regrets just lessons, cheers ill use that one myself.
I think Afobe would peak at a good club, but not quite Arsenal. Maybe a club like Everton or Southampton. Nevertheless surely it would have made sense to loan him out to a lower table PL side? Crystal Palace for example? They took Sanogo, who is way behind Afobe. If he proved himself there, then maybe he could be good enough for Arsenal? Also, £2m for a very promising, young, English striker is a very low price. Consider that Danny Welbeck had a pricetag of £16m. Welbeck is vastly more experienced, but is he that much a better player?
@Mick The Gooner
Had he been given the chance at AFC he might well have peaked there. He has all the attributes…
No premier league side wanted him.
@GoonerG1
No premier side wanted Le Coq either. Not even on loan…So much for that logic.
Personally from what I’ve seen, I have higher hopes from Akpom and I think it was always going to be a choice between him and Afobe.
Scoring often in a lower league isn’t exactly a sure sign of a world-beater
@josh37
Akpom is another Theo. Runs with his head down, no end product and no defensive side to his game what so ever.
In a regular team set up. If you impress while out on loan, you usually get a shot at 1st team play…
Bet Sanogo gets to start when he comes back. Hmmmmm!
Do you ever wonder why the Arsenal youth system has not developed a high flier in a looooooooong while?
I mean in the ranks of Henry, Viera, Pettit, Adams…
Don’t get me started with Wilshire…he’s good but not like the ones mentioned above.
Don’t get me started with Belerin or Fabregas…they were from Barcelona.
I don’t think there is anyone suitable to be brought in from the youth system that will be able to make us a title challenger.
Are we missing something in the youth system?
If our youth system was excellent, we should have at least 1 member being prompted to the senior team, or sent to gain more playing time in other premiership teams.
The only team I know that really develops their youth system is sadly, Barcelona.
Agreed but they don’t get it right all the time – how did we end up with Cesc and Hector? We obviously saw something they didn’t – they took Cesc back after being developed here and look to be now sniffing around HB.
Fab left their youth team to join our first team.
The Barcelona youth team is filled with stars who leave to join the first team of other teams yearly.
And if you see the Barcelona team, its made up of players from their youth system (more than 80%).
There is something they do that we need to learn from.
Our youth system should develop to the state where teams line up in our youth system looking for stars…then we can put buy back clauses and buy them back as world class players.
That is the difference between Barcelona and Arsenal.
We are growing though.
If we let Sanogo go, we won’t regret it in a few years. I’m sure of it.
Btw, I sense a new attitude in Wenger. In past years he would have been more than happy with Ospina or Szczesny but getting Cech shows a new ruthlessness. Evimmediately. Sometimes you need to offload young inexperienced players and get top quality proven players.eryone makes mistakes but when you are hungry for glory now sometimes you need to drop inexperienced players and focus on proven talent.
That said, I wish Wenger had kept Afobe and sold Sanogo instead
Don’t write him off just yet. The poor kid’s struggled to string multiple games together.
I truly hope a fit and happy loan move happens for him in France this coming season.
Selling an effient goal scorer like afobe for 2m what is 2m for arsenal! Afobe will be like kane infact I rate him higher than any striker we have in our books
Ridiculous…
Maybe that is a ridiculous statement but I have to say that IMO Sanogo needs to GO GO I just don’t see him having any potential at all. I also feel that Wellbeck is only ever going to be a reasonable squad player and never a great.
@season ticket holder
Realness…
Off topic… But amusing
Petr Cech has announced his arrival at Arsenal by making clear that he intends to almost win a number of trophies before ultimately falling just short.
Cech, who won a number of important honours at Chelsea, plus four FA Cups, told journalists that his relentless success at Stamford Bridge had left him jaded and he was running out of places to put his medals.
“I’ve won titles almost every year I’ve been here, and the time is right to say enough is enough,” Cech said. “At this stage in my career I need a new challenge that involves coming second, or third, or best of all, fourth.
The Czech Republic international denied that he was betraying a lack of ambition by moving from west to north London, insisting that ambition came in various guises, and that he was mostly looking forward to owning a boat one day.
“Winning isn’t everything,” the 33-year-old told FourFourTwo. “And I’m delighted to have joined a club that agrees.”
He added that he could probably find space for a Fair Play award, and an Emirates Cup participation certificate, but that he was now intending to use his time at Arsenal to concentrate on whittling, home-brewing his own beer, and learning the saxophone.
Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta said: “Petr knows all about winning trophies, and he’s told us to forget about that and reflect instead that nothing in life beats drinking a fine bottle of wine with friends while watching the stars.
“He could be the player to take us to the next level. By which I mean the level of consciousness that medals and cups can bring only fleeting pleasure, and that true fulfilment comes only from within.
What a load of Betty Swallocks.
just two players away fro being a club that really can compete. It just remains to be seen if we get them andif they are the players that will make a difference, if neither are proven true then aybe tove will be.
THE ABOVE not “maybe tove”
my keyboard hates this site lol
This article and comments that followed have one thing in common, being pompus of your ignorance. You have no knowledge as to why the club let the player go let alone the conditions of his sale yet you are here trying to tell us your unfounded opinions about the conditions of his sale, and conditions on which Real Madrid and Barca sell their young players. You tell us that you do not remember of any Arsenal youth player who was offloaded by Arsenal but ended up playing in top four or becoming world class. Lasagna Diarra was sold to Portsmouth and ended up playing for Real Madrid. They is a midfielder wearing 15 at Beskitas who can easily play for Man U, Liverpool or the Tots, who came from our youth system.
Our striker hopes rest on Real Madrid , if they get aguero. Which I doubt will happen, we’ll get Benzema, which I think if it happens no one will be thinking about Afobe , if they don’t I think dzeko would be a bargain but I Defo think , theo should get central position if we don’t sign anyone, on a funny note has anyone seen the rumour that Rooney is being signed by juventus? I have a reliable source that overheard him in a pub in Rome asking for an old lady!
Boom boom
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is doing ok though.
Andy Cole did great at Man Utd, he was in the academy when Liam was head of Youth Development and Man YOOO were a top 1 team when he was scoring for fun with Dwight York.
Benik Afobe was a gamble. He scores more than Welbeck but who would you have in the team, Benilk of Welbs? It has to be Dan.
I got goosebumps when I read Brady being mentioned.
C’est la vie mon freres du JustArseneal
Life and football too! is a revolving door.
Players come and go.
Some Outstay their welcome and conversely Some go that should never have left.
Just remember, we dance the Oakey Cokey til the music is over but we can always rest assured that WE JUST SIGNED THE MAN MOUNTAIN CECH, so cheer up you miserable bunch of Arsenists.
As a die hard Nigerian Arsenal fan that am I, I would have loved to see Benik Afobe progressed to regular senior football at Arsenal. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Alas! A promising potential young Afobe was unceremoniously thrown out of Arsenal with no real reason adduced, other than the Boss doesn’t like something about Afobe. Is it his football or it’s entirely something else? Only Gods knows. Period to his sale to Wolves, this guy was doing very well on his loanee outings at MK Dons where his goals helped knocked out the Red Devils of Man Utd FC in a Capital One Cup duel. Come On You Gooners! We all known this Afobe has shown the potential quality of a future Gunners. Why he the hurriness in selling him when he was doing well on loan, beats me. Nevertheless, Afobe being of Nigerian blood makes me to have soft spot for him. Especially as he hasn’t been found wanting on any criminal act and social vice. To see him developed to a big timer. I sincerely wish one of the Premier Clubs looking for home grown talent will take Afobe from Wolves when the transfer window opens tomorrow.
As a die hard Nigerian Arsenal fan that am I, I would have loved to see Benik Afobe progressed to regular senior football at Arsenal. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Alas! A promising potential young Afobe was unceremoniously thrown out of Arsenal with no real reason adduced, other than the Boss doesn’t like something about Afobe. Is it his football or it’s entirely something else? Only Gods knows. Period to his sale to Wolves, this guy was doing very well on his loanee outings at MK Dons where his goals helped knocked out the Red Devils of Man Utd FC in a Capital One Cup duel. Come On You Gooners! We all known this Afobe has shown the potential quality of a future Gunners. Why was the hurriness in selling him when he was doing well on loan, beats me. Nevertheless, Afobe being of Nigerian blood makes me to have soft spot for him. Especially as he hasn’t been found wanting on any criminal act and social vice. To see him developed to a big timer, I sincerely wish one of the Premier Clubs looking for home grown talent will take Afobe from Wolves when the transfer window opens tomorrow.
Silly article and silly comments. Adobe is 23 and no EPL team wanted him. Decent player but hardly a huge mistake.