Arsenal ace Alex Iwobi has revealed that he expects Chuba Akpom to be the next talented youngster to make their mark in the first-team.
Iwobi has been highly impressive since breaking into the senior side himself last season as he made 34 appearances in all competitions and scored six goals while adding five assists to his contribution.
He’s looked to build on that this year with three assists in seven outings, and at just 20 years of age, he’ll hope to grow into a role of being an instrumental part of Arsenal’s success moving forward.
While he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last young star to come through the ranks at the Emirates, he’s tipped Akpom to follow in his footsteps sooner rather than later.
“I don’t really know who to expect, because you never know who will come through. But I’d say Chuba Akpom will be the next to join,” he told FourFourTwo.
“He and Glen Kamara are probably my best friends at the club.
I’ve known Chuba since I was about three years old – I used to play Sunday League with him for Rippleway in Newham, and now we’re still at Arsenal together.
“Glen came at U16s and he’s just a joker of the team – I’m really close with him.”
Akpom has made 10 appearances for the Gunners since 2013, while also acquiring experience through loan spells with the likes of Nottingham Forest and Hull City.
While he’s been restricted to just one appearance so far this year in the EFL Cup, he’ll be buoyed by the fact that his close friend Iwobi has backed him to make the step up and will be desperate to follow his path into the first team sooner rather than later.
Again, at just 21 years of age, he still has plenty of time on his side, but he’ll have to convince Wenger that he has a long-term future at the club and can make an impact when selected for the first team.