Arsenal have sold forward Chuba Akpom to PAOK.
Arsenal academy product Akpom made his Gunners debut in 2013 after initially joining the club as a kid in 2002.
But he failed to make it in the Arsenal first team and was sent out on loan six times.
Now, the 22-year-old has finally secured a permanent move away from north London.
“We wish Chuba the best of luck with PAOK,” the club wrote.
cut from any future sale.
Akpom made just 12 first-team appearances for Arsenal, having made his debut in 2013.
Akpom joined Arsenal at the age of six.He made his debut for the Arsenal U18 side at the age of 15, and signed his first professional contract with Arsenal on 10 October 2012, a day after turning 17. In December 2012 Akpom received his first call into the Arsenal senior squad, when he was an unused substitute for a 2–1 Champions League defeat to Olympiakos.
He made 20 U21 Premier League appearances during the 2012–13 season and scored 13 goals, including 10 goals in 10 games in the Elite Group stage. In the lead-up to the 2013–14 season, Akpom was selected for Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia and scored once in a 7–0 win against an Indonesia Dream Team, two more in a 7–1 win against Vietnam and another in Arsenal’s final game of the tour against Urawa Red Diamonds. Akpom made his competitive debut in a 3–1 Premier League win over Sunderland on 14 September 2013.
He came on in the third minute of injury time as a substitute for the injured Olivier Giroud. Akpom’s second Arsenal appearance came in a League Cup third round tie away to West Bromwich Albion on 25 September. He replaced goalscorer Thomas Eisfeld after 82 minutes and with the scores at 1–1 at full-time, the game entered extra time.
Akpom played the full scoreless extra time period and scored Arsenal’s third penalty in the ensuing shootout, helping Arsenal to a win. He scored three goals in four UEFA Youth League appearances towards the end of 2013. Akpom scored a hattrick in a 6–1 FA Youth Cup fourth round demolition of Peterborough United on 6 January 2014.
Akpom began the 2014–15 season by scoring a hat trick for Arsenal in an Under-21 Premier League Division 2 game against West Bromwich Albion at the end of August. On 23 September 2014, he made his first senior appearance of the season, replacing Héctor Bellerín for the last four minutes as Arsenal lost 1–2 at home against Southampton in the League Cup. He made his first Premier League appearance of the season against Southampton on New Year’s Day 2015
. Akpom made a telling contribution to Arsenal’s 5–0 home win against Aston Villa, coming on as a second-half substitute and winning a penalty, converted by Santi Cazorla, his first assist for the club.On 4 February 2015, Akpom spurned the interest of a number of other clubs from the Premier League and across Europe to sign a new 4 1/2 year contract with Arsenal.
Arsenal are now giving serious consideration to the potential loss of chief executive Ivan Gazidis to AC Milan but remain confident they would have the time and personnel to make a seamless transition.
Gazidis has formally informed the Arsenal board of an offer from the seven-times European Champions and, although a definite decision has not yet been made or confirmed, the departure of the club’s most influential executive has become a very real possibility.
Having overseen a comprehensive restructure of the club over recent years, most notably with the departure of manager Arsène Wenger, there is a sense inside Arsenal that Gazidis may now feel that the time is right for a different challenge.
There have been reports in Italy that Gazidis could even start in a new executive director’s role as early as next month, but it is understood that his potential notice period at Arsenal would rule out that sort of timescale and there is confidence that he would not push to leave suddenly and risk a damaging void.
Arsenal also feel confident that their off-field set-up – thanks largely to the revolution that Gazidis has overseen – is well equipped to deal with and adapt to his potential departure.It is, however, an increasingly serious situation ahead of a Premier League season that begins in only 11 days with the visit of reigning champions Manchester City.