Wenger Hints at First Team Role for Teenage Striker

Arsene Wenger believes that it will not be long before 17-year-old striker Chuba Akpom is pushing for a place in the Arsenal first team.

The teenage forward was named on the substitutes bench for Arsenal's final Champions League group game against Olympiakos last Tuesday and has impressed while playing for the Gunners Under-21 side this season.

Akpom has also represented Arsenal in NextGen action this season and has scored three goals for the England Under-19 side. These impressive performances have clearly caught the eye of Wenger, who believes the youngster will soon be pushing for regular first team football.

"He has personality [and] he has quality," Wenger told the official Arsenal website. "I wanted him to be with the first team, taste what it is [to be involved] in a Champions League game, and hopefully he will join us very quickly. It could happen very soon.

"He's more a guy who likes to participate in the build up, a guy who is brave, a guy who makes good runs and is not a typical goal chaser.

"Where he must improve is to finish things off. But he creates for others, he creates for himself, and just needs to be a bit calmer for the finishing. That's something he will get easily."

Arsenal did allow a number of strikers to depart in the summer, with the likes of Robin van Persie and Carlos Vela leaving on permanent deals, while Nicklas Bendtner, Benik Afobe, Sanchez Watt and Joel Campbell are all currently on-loan away from the Emirates.

This has meant there is a chance for young players like Akpom to make an impact, especially as Wenger has suggested that he will not be looking to invest heavily during the January transfer window.

The powerful striker only signed his first professional contract with the club in October but has long been viewed as a special talent at the club after making his debut for the Under-18 side when he was just 15-years-old.