On a day that young prodigy Serge Gnabry has revealed exactly why it was so important that he moved on from Arsenal, it seems that another young player may have intentions of doing the same, in the not too distant future.
Gnabry revealed today to Kicker, in a report picked up by SkySports, that it was important to give up on becoming a first team regular at Arsenal, after many years of being in and out of the Gunners side. Another player, currently still on the books at Arsenal, who is more than familiar to the same situation that Gnabry was once in, is young Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom.
Akpom has risen through the ranks at Arsenal, having joined the club as a young boy. Akpom came to the Gunners set up at the age of six and made his Under 18’s debut at just 15 years old. Big things were expected from Akpom, but the young Gunner has since failed to live up to much of the hype surrounding him. Akpom has been present at many of the pre-season tours with the first team and he has on most occasions made quite an impression during the time spent abroad. However when it comes to competitive fixtures, he just can’t put in the same level of performance.
Arsenal were visited by former youth striker Benik Afobe at the weekend, with the centre forward now plying his trade at AFC Bournemouth. He too, like Akpom, had plenty of promise surrounding him, but the dream of playing for Arsenal soon faded when reality hit him at the age of 21. Now at 21 years old, Akpom also has to make a decision on his future, with the likelihood of breaking into the Arsenal first team seeming rather slim.
According to today’s papers, Akpom has several Football League clubs toying with the idea of signing him on loan. The Metro are reporting that Arsene Wenger hasn’t given up on Akpom just yet and that Le Prof is hoping to continue the youngsters development with a loan stint in January. It is reported that Championship trio Cardiff, Fulham and former side Brentford are all interested in the strikers services.
In my opinion, although Akpom has shown some great promise in the past, I don’t think he has much of a future at Arsenal. The striker has largely failed to make much of an impact at each side he’s played for and in fact the Englishman has only ever scored 3 league goals in 57 league appearances. Arsenal don’t have many strikers on the books, but I don’t think Akpom offers us much up front and at 21 years old, he has to consider his future with the club if he wants to get regular playing time.
Having already played for the likes of Brentford, Coventry, Nottingham Forest and Hull City, Akpom is a well experienced player around the football league. But could his next move be a permanent transfer away, rather than a temporary loan move from the Gunners?
AH