Arsenal have been on the lookout for a striker and so far the Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has been unsuccessful in securing a player to bolster his attack. To deal with the lack of firepower Wenger has asked young striker Chuba Akpom to stay at Arsenal and take a chance at the first team.
The 20-year-old striker spent the last season on loan at Hull City FC and was to be sent for another season on loan at the start of the Premier League season, however, having bids for Jamie Vardy and Alexandre Lacazette rejected. Wenger has now chosen to keep the young striker till he finds a suitable replacement or until he deems Akpom fit for regular first team football.
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Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud is set to return to training only next week and hence he will either be absent from the match against Liverpool or will be on the bench during the match. This has led to Wenger considering Apkom to play or he may end up asking Alexis Sanchez or Theo Walcott to cover up for the centre forward role. While Walcott considers himself to be a wide player and Wenger likes Sanchez to take up the wider role, the Arsenal boss may still ask either of the players to play as the main central striker, although his decision will depend upon his assessment of Apkom during the match against Liverpool.
Apkom had a good season at Hull City and scored 7 goals in 41 appearances in all the competitions. The player joined Arsenal at the age of six and has been a part of Arsenal’s U18 and later U21 squad. Having played for Arsenal during the 2013-2014 pre-season tour at Asia, he spent the first half of the following season at Brentford and the second half at Coventry City on loan. The player scored only 7 goals last season, with his dribbling skills and his ability to hold on to the ball considered to be his strengths.
Although the 20-year-old may not be an ideal fit for the vacant striker option in Wenger’s squad, he does seem like the best option Wenger has got till he finds an ideal player for the same.
