Chuba Akpom Deal Would Be a Victory for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal

If Chuba Akpom signs a contract extension with Arsenal, it will be a victory for a sustained campaign to convince him his future lies in London.

A matter of weeks ago, Akpom was not of a mind to sign a new deal with the Gunners. His contract is due to expire at the end of the season, and the 19-year-old felt he may have to leave in order to make a first-team breakthrough.

Some of the continent's best teams were hovering over a player with enormous potential: As an England youth international, Akpom has already established a reputation as a future star of the game.

As long ago as 2012, manager Arsene Wenger told Arsenal.com:

"

He has personality [and] he has quality. 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.

"

However, in the two years that have followed, Akpom has not found first-team opportunities easy to come by.

It’s easy enough to see why he was concerned. Arsenal have a glittering array of attacking options at their disposal. The youngster found himself behind the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski in the substantial queue for a first-team place. When fully fledged internationals can’t get a game up front, talented but raw teenagers stand little to no chance.

However, Wenger has cleared the decks to make room for Akpom’s development. This past January transfer window, he allowed Podolski, Campbell and Yaya Sanogo to leave the club on loan, effectively bumping Akpom three places up the pecking order.

As a consequence, Akpom has found himself on the fringes of the first team earlier than he may have anticipated. He has now made five senior appearances this season, the latest of which was an impressive cameo against Aston Villa.

Introduced as a replacement for Giroud, Akpom terrorised a tiring Villa defence, winning a penalty that was converted by Santi Cazorla.

Had his finishing been a little more composed, he might have opened his own Arsenal account. It seems there wasa concerted effort from the players to get him to score, with Cazorla notably passing to the young striker when shooting seemed more sensible. Everyone, it seems, is determined for Akpom to feel at home at Arsenal.

Those efforts appear to have paid off. According to Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Independent, a new deal may now be imminent:

"The 19-year-old striker is out of contract this summer but is understood to be 'very close' to signing a four-and-a-half year deal Arsenal have offered him to keep him at the club."

That would be a boost to Arsenal and vindication of Wenger’s selection strategy. Akpom has been convinced his future lies at the Emirates Stadium, and the Gunners boss deserves credit for clearing a path for this prodigious talent.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.