Arsenal Should Have Never Sold Benik Afobe

Arsenal made a questionable move when they decided to sell Benik Afobe last January and they may come to regret it even more with each passing match.

Benik Afobe has accomplished his ‘dream’ by notching his first Premier League win and goal in the same match. He helped lead his new club Bournemouth over Norwich City by the commanding scoreline of 3-0.

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“I’ve dreamt about this since I was a young boy, to get my first Premier League win and also my goal,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

Afobe was playing in just his second game as a Cherry after the newly-promoted side dropped a club-record £10m to bring the 22 year old English striker in. The idea was that he could help the side cover for their long-term injury to Callum Wilson, who had begun the year on fire, scoring five goals in seven appearances.

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Immediately, journalists began calling Afobe Bournemouth’s version of Jamie Vardy. Nothing like a little added pressure.

However, the Bournemouth attack has been a force and with a deadly front man like Afobe has proven to be, they could make a charge. After all, you need only look at Afobe’s goal totals to see what he has been able to do. Since the start of last season, Afobe has 33 goals. That is behind just Sergio Aguero (36) and Ipswich Town’s Daryl Murphy (35) for most goals in the top four tiers of English football.

Safe to say that Afobe has a nose for goal.

And where did his great goal-scoring bonanza begin? The minute he left Arsenal.

What makes this move befuddling is that Afobe seemed to fit perfectly into Arsenal’s scheme. Giroud is the front man as always. He is 30. Next up in line was Danny Welbeck. He is 25. Behind him there seemed to be a pretty solid duo in Chuba Akpom and Afobe but Wenger put all his eggs in one basket and let Afobe go for a measly £2m. He then went on to become one of the premier goal scorers in England.

In terms of skill set, Afobe fit the Arsenal scheme as well. He is an ace in the air, winning two aerials per appearance. He holds up play just like Giroud does and his 86% pass completion is a perfect component in his arsenal of tools.

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Arsene Wenger will never admit that he made a mistake. However, we must look at this current striker scenario and wonder what could have been if Afobe was here challenging Giroud. Afobe is an out and out striker and clearly one that knows how to score goals. That is more than both Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott can say. Neither one has found considerable success at the striker role. Likewise, both have been moved to wide roles when it became apparent that Giroud was the superior option.

All in all, Afobe could be Arsenal second string No. 9. He could be fetching plenty of playing time subbing for Giroud and getting the odd start when clumps of fixtures take their toll. He could then inherit the mantle from Giroud when his time runs up in a few years. It would hit Afobe’s prime in stride. But instead, he is now about to go on a scoring rampage with a solid Bournemouth attack, leaving us all wondering what could have been.

Arsenal’s striker crop is actually remarkably thin. Behind Giroud, the list has to go all the way down to Donyell Malen before we see someone that doesn’t struggle scoring goals. Welbeck, Walcott and Akpom all have shown a tendency to hit a mental wall when they find themselves in on net. That is a 12 year gap between strikers who know how to score.

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Granted, Akpom is still young and could learn, but the point is that Arsenal is seriously lacking in goal-scoring talents. Afobe could have been one of them. Throughout his stay at Bournemouth, we are only going to get a better indication of what Arsenal may have missed out on.