Arsenal To Look The Fool With Benik Afobe Return

Arsenal will be travelling to the home of former Gunner Benik Afobe when they take on Bournemouth and they are primed to look the fool.

Given that Arsenal have gone three straight Premier League matches without a goal, it only makes sense that we can highlight the current problem of their drought. Goals. Chances are being created and shots are being put on goal but nothing is going in. Granted, it took a superhuman effort by Fraser Forster to keep Arsenal scoreless, the point is, he kept Arsenal scoreless.

The Gunners are in a dicey position. They are going into Vitality Stadium to face a striker that they let go at the age of 21 for a mere £2m. He was sold without being given much of a chance with the senior squad despite showing such promise at a young age.

At the age of 16, Afobe scored 20 goals in 13 appearances for the Arsenal U18 squad. In his last loan at MK Dons, he scored 10 goals in 22 appearances. Then he was sold, at which point he scored 22 goals in 46 appearances for Wolverhampton.

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Aside from a few bum loans, Afobe consistently showed that he knows how to score. He has netted his way to becoming one of the highest scoring men in all of England.

Yet Arsenal sold him for £2m and watched as he was flipped a year later for £10m to Bournemouth, a Premier League caliber club, where he has now scored three times in just 295 minutes across four league appearances. That’s right, Afobe has scored a goal in his past three games whereas Arsenal, as a team, have not.

And now, Afobe will be opening the front door to let a sputtering Arsenal into the gates of Vitality Stadium. Naturally, Afobe has some thoughts on the matter.

“I’ve been shooting and scoring goals since I was six and playing for Arsenal… I know how to score goals,” he said via the Guardian. He even added how much he would have liked to be given a chance at Arsenal. “I would’ve liked to have got my chance but it didn’t happen. That’s not how life works. Not everything can go your way. I believe I would’ve scored goals for them.”

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Hard to argue that he would not have given us a better chance than, say, Yaya Sanogo. But hindsight is 20/20.

Now, we play the game that we played after the Southampton draw. Who could Arsenal have brought on for the final 10-15 minutes to try to score? Well, no one, because they don’t have anyone. But what if Arsenal had had Benik Afobe? He is someone with fresh ideas. He could have given it a good go and given the Saints’ defense something to think about. Would he have beat Forster? No one will ever know. Given that Forster is the human equivalent of Strech Armstrong, it’s doubtful. But it would have been a change.

Anyway, he was sold. Meanwhile, Yaya Sanogo is 23 and after notching a whole 30 touches on loan at Ajax, has now moved to Charlton Athletic. It is merely prolonging the inevitable.

Yet Afobe was sold at 21 after being at the club since he was six and scoring goals everywhere he went.

This is a huge mistake by Wenger and it would not be surprising to see Afobe net against his former club. He will have that extra bit of inspiration, that much is certain.

The one positive weighing in Arsenal’s favor is the fact that Afobe’s three goals have come against Norwich, Sunderland and a struggling Crystal Palace. Hopefully playing against a top defense and top keeper will render him ineffective.

Next: 5 Players Arsenal Missed Out On In January

Be ready for a social media explosion of Afobe scores against the club that he so wanted to play for.

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Arsenal Could Look The Fool With Benik Afobe Clash

By Josh Sippie | Feb 4, 2016

Arsenal will be travelling to the home of former Gunner Benik Afobe when they take on Bournemouth and they are primed to look the fool.

More from Pain in the Arsenal