“He scored 4 goals in just 51 mins in his last game, I don’t understand how Arsenal allow him to just like that”- Arsenal’s scouting Director revealed he’s ‘surprised’ that red-hot £15M striker left Arsenal- Player not Folarin Balogun

COACH ‘SURPRISED’ £12M STRIKER LEFT ARSENAL AS HE SCORES 4 GOALS IN 51 MINUTES

Chuba Akpom is starting to make his mark at Ajax with the striker’s former England youth coach ‘surprised’ that his time at Premier League giants Arsenal came to an end so quickly.

After a sluggish start to life in the Dutch capital, the £12 million signing from Middlesbrough now has a place in the Ajax history books to his name. Albeit a rather niche one.

Chuba Akpom is the first Ajax player ever to score in three successive Eredivisie games after coming off the bench, maintaining his recent resurgence against Almere City at the weekend.

That ‘supersub’ tag is a difficult one to shake, of course. But a place in John van’t Schipp’s starting XI is surely now within reach, Akpom finding the net four times in his last 51 minutes of league action while drawing comparisons with a bonafide Dutch icon.

Former Arsenal striker shining at Ajax

“I remember a match between England and the Netherlands in which Ruud van Nistelrooy was the striker and Patrick Kluivert roamed around him,” Blake, who coached Akpom at U19 level for the Young Lions, tells Voetbal International.

“I thought that was unusual. But the way Kluivert played that match, I see a lot of him in Chuba.

“(Akpom) is strong, but also very gifted technically. He is good with his back to the goal, but even better when he has to come from a little deeper.”

Akpom thrived in a roving, almost ‘number ten’ role under Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough in 2022/23. With 28 goals in 40 games, Akpom was the Championship’s Golden Boot winner, belatedly fulfilling the potential that once put him amongst the most exciting up-and-comers in Arsenal’s feted academy.

Four goals in 51 Eredivisie minutes

“I was surprised that Chuba left Arsenal so early,” Blake adds, Akpom playing only four Premier League games while embarking upon a series of ill-fitting loans.

“I thought (Arsenal) was the right club for him. Sometimes, as a player, you end up in the wrong place. A young player needs to feel good enough and appreciated and have trusted people around him.”