Both Yaya Sanogo and Chuba Akpom have been linked with moves this month, but have so far failed to secure one.
The former is into the final six months of his contract, so a permanent transfer was believed most likely, but we have either failed to drum up interest in his signature, or Arsene Wenger is willing to to give him six more months with the club to prove his worth.
Two weeks back, Arsene Wenger named both Yaya and Akpom as reasons why they were not interested in signing a striker this month, amidst speculation regarding the possible signing of Alvaro Morata and Andrea Belotti.
This tells me has has intentions for both in either a short or long term capacity, but I can hardly see Sanogo being useful in either.
He has failed to prove that he is up to playing at the top level, and with him turning 24 years-old on Thursday, I have no expectation that he will ever make it with a top team.
Akpom however has impressed in spurts, and at 21 still holds more than enough potential to believe that there could still be a future for him at Arsenal. With us currently fielding only the one striker in our current system, it doesn’t offer him many opportunities for senior minutes, but he will be picking up plenty on the training field.
Chuba scored seven goals for Hull last season in helping them earn promotion to the Premier League, and now Aston Villa are said to be hoping they can secure a similar deal as they look to climb the Championship table.
If we were to allow him to go out on loan however, I would hope we would have an agreement of a reasonable guarantee of game-time for him, otherwise he may as well sit on our bench and learn from our vastly improved squad and staff.
Should Arsenal cut their losses with Yaya? Can Akpom step up this season or does he need to go on loan?
Pat J