Chuba Akpom has committed his long-term future to Arsenal by penning a new four-and-a-half year deal at the club he’s represented since the age of 6.
It was widely reported that a number of clubs across the continent had harboured interest in the 19-year-old’s services, with his previous contract expiring this coming summer. Borussia Dortmund, PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente were among the teams linked with Akpom from afar, with Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City rumoured to be enticed domestically.
It was seemingly of paramount importance to the former Brentford and Coventry City loanee that he received assurances of first team involvement and one could assume that those demands have been verbally met by Arsène Wenger during the negotiations. He was deployed by the 65-year-old from off the bench to great effect in the recent FA Cup meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion, and in the Premier League rout over Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium where he won the penalty subsequently dispatched by Santi Cazorla in the 75th minute.
The Mirror have claimed that this deal is the biggest ever offered by Wenger to a player of Akpom’s age and experience, testament to the boss’ faith in his abilities right now and also once he has progressed after years of further growth under his tutelage.
It should be noted, however, that there is an abundance of attacking options at Le Prof’s disposal at the moment, with Yaya Sanogo, Lucas Podolski and Joel Campbell returning from loan spells at the end of the current campaign too. It is therefore evident that Akpom is going to have to match the belief placed in him by the Gunners with hard-work and continued development, a positive rather than a negative insomuch that the competition and urgency to prove himself should serve as means for motivation.
Nonetheless, the future where this relationship is concerned appears remarkably bright and supporters should react to this news with tremendous excitement. The notion of an Arsenal product realising their full potential elsewhere is distressing to say the least and is something the North London outfit have become accustomed to of late, but is by no means something the club should ever be content with.
