Arsenal: Chuba Akpom Deserves Some Sort of Chance

With both Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott failing to convince in the striker’s position, surely Arsenal youngster Chuba Akpom, after a positive pre-season, combined with his desire to succeed, merits some sort of chance of first team action.

Arsenal’s need for a striker has been well documented and is even seen by some as a more pressing need than a central defender. Our most recent dour draw against Champions Leicester proved Alexis wasn’t up to fill the shoes of a true No. 9. So why hasn’t Akpom even been given a chance?

At present, Giroud is Arsenal’s first choice out and out striker. While the acquisition of another striker is still very possible (Lucas Perez is the one currently being mooted as the striker solution), the fact that Chuba Akpom is a pure No. 9 (unlike Welbeck, Walcott and Alexis) and still hasn’t been afforded one minute of first team action confuses me.

Yes, I do understand that Akpom is a striker without a single Premier League goal to his name. He is nowhere near to being the finished article and lacks the required experience to line up for Arsenal, but he could still bring many positives to the current set-up.

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First of all, he is one of our own. Like last season’s breakout star Alex Iwobi, Akpom has been raised through the ranks of Arsenal’s academy and has Arsenal blood rushing through his veins. There is nothing fans like more than an academy product strutting their stuff on the biggest stage (look at Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford for example)

Secondly, he has come into this season as our top scorer in pre-season games. While I know pre-season is something you cannot read too deeply into (proven by Arsenal’s brilliant pre-season compared to their stuttering Premier League start), it still provides an indication of form and confidence. Akpom came into the season with bundles of confidence and even some minutes off the bench would have benefitted him and the team greatly.

Again, I am not stating that Akpom is Arsenal Starting XI quality. But what I am yearning for is that the youngster be given a chance. Whether it be a Capital-One Cup appearance or even the last ten minutes of a Premier League game, give the young man a chance to stretch his youthful exuberant legs.

The worst thing that could happen is that Akpom proves he isn’t ready for first team action. Subsequently, he will either be farmed out on loan or join the U21 setup. The potential benefit, though, could be stunning! If Akpom was given a few minutes and managed to score, he would be overloaded with confidence and Arsenal would have a striker on the bench bursting to make an impact.

While I may be fantasising a little as Akpom has rarely proven he is ready for Premier League Football (take his unfruitful loan at Hull City last season as evidence), consider this: I doubt many Arsenal fans would have given Alex Iwobi even a glimmer of hope for first team action and look where he is now…

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So what do you think Gooners? Does the young Chuba Akpom deserve some sort of chance in the first team set-up or is he too inexperienced to make a significant impact?

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