Sold for £2m, now outscoring Jesus: Arsenal may regret selling “terrific” Hale Ender

Arsenal have become a far more savvy club when it comes to transfers in recent years.

Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have helped turn the club into more intelligent buyers and far better sellers, with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun all leaving for hefty fees in the last year and a bit.

However, you only have to go back a bit further in time to see some of the Gunners’ less than impressive sales, with the likes of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Mesut Özil and Nicolas Pepe all leaving for free.

That said, while two of those three didn’t exactly kick on after leaving, a former Hale End graduate who was sold for a pittance has, and he’s outscored Gabriel Jesus for two seasons now.

Jesus’ Arsenal form

Arsenal completed the £45m signing of Jesus from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and it would be fair to say that in the two years since, the Gunners faithful have seen the best of the Brazilian and the worst.

For example, when the 27-year-old is fit and firing, he’s easily one of the most technically impressive players to watch in the entire league, let alone the club. His ability to beat defenders, control the ball and cause headaches for the opposition can be invaluable.

This ability was on full display in his first few months with the club when, before the 2022 World Cup, he scored five goals and provided five assists in just 14 games, propelling the club into an unexpected title race with his former side.

However, he suffered a severe knee injury in Qatar that sidelined him until mid-March, and while he was still a goal threat upon his return, his fitness is now a real concern.

For example, last season he missed another 16 games through injury and this year he has already missed two games through a groin issue and when you add these problems together with the fact that Kai Havertz has now become Arteta’s defacto starting number nine, things aren’t looking particularly rosey for the former City ace.

Unfortunately, it does look like he’ll have to settle for a backup role this season, and the fact he’s being outscored by a former Hale Ender who was sold for peanuts doesn’t help either.

Chuba Akpom’s recent record

Yes, the former Arsenal youth product in question is Chuba Akpom, who, after failing to break into the Gunners’ first team, was sold to Greek side PAOK in 2018 for a fee that was later revealed to be around £2m.

After impressing in Greece, the Canning Town-born poacher earned a move to Championship side Middlesbrough, but a lacklustre 2020/21 saw him move back to Greece on loan before coming back to Boro for the 22/23 campaign and blowing everyone away.

In just 42 appearances, he scored 29 goals and provided two assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement once every 1.35 games. Unsurprisingly, he ended the campaign as the top goalscorer in the Championship.

Such electrifying form earned the former Gunners prospect a £12m move to Dutch giants Ajax last summer.

While he struggled early on, he eventually ended his first year in Amsterdam with 15 goals and three assists in 36 appearances, equating to an impressive average of a goal involvement once every other game.

Now, while the “terrific” striker, as Boro manager Michael Carrick dubbed him, has outscored Jesus for two seasons running, it’s important to note that he has done so in weaker leagues. However, that does not change the fact that, as things stand, having a forward like Akpom in the squad would surely make Arsenal that little bit stronger.

That said, given how well he has played in the last couple of years and how much the Gunners have improved, perhaps his departure was in the best interest of all involved.