Akpom Joins Hayden at Hull City

Just over two weeks after Arsene Wenger stated Chuba Akpom would stay with Arsenal this season, it appears he is being loaned out to Championship side Hull City. This news is being reported by Respected Journalist David Ornstein of BBC Sport. If true (which, if Ornstein is reporting it, it is), Akpom will join his Arsenal colleague Isaac Hayden in Hull.

While Akpom has shown promise in his U21 and preseason performances, he has been on loan three times already, with no goals to show from those experiences. Akpom has the physical and technical tools to make it at Arsenal, but his decision-making and finishing have disappointed when given the opportunity at the first-team level.

With Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, and Alexis Sanchez as first-team options at the striker position ahead of Akpom, his loan is no surprise, despite Wenger's comments in Singapore. He is at the stage of his development where he needs to play competitive football every week to refine his finishing, improve his decision-making, and find some confidence to force his way into Wenger's first-team plans. Hopefully, Steve Bruce and Hull will give him the opportunity to shine.

We here at The Short Fuse wish Chuba all that best in his season sharing a bunk bed with Isaac Hayden in Hull!