Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom vows to fight for first team place rather than leave on loan

Chuba Akpom has revealed his preference to battle for a first-team berth at Arsenal next season rather than embark upon another loan spell away from the club.

The confident 19 year old, who has represented England at a number of youth levels, made seven senior appearances in all competitions for the Gunners last year but failed to score a single goal during a short loan spell in the Championship with Nottingham Forest.

Akpom provided a timely reminder of his potential with a hat-trick during the Barclays Asia Trophy rout against a Singapore Select XI on 15 July, after which Arsene Wenger challenged his young and ambitious striker to display that sort of talent in big matches.

The manager subsequently confirmed his intention to feature Akpom during the annual Emirates Cup tournament held in North London over the weekend, signalling that the player had made a big impression during Arsenal's brief visit to south east Asia.

He appeared as a second-half substitute in both matches as Wenger's side bagged their second pre-season trophy following a comprehensive victory over Lyon and a slender win against VFL Wolfsburg.

Although he was unable to continue his scoring run on home soil, Akpom believes he has the quality and work ethic necessary to establish himself in North London without the need for another stint elsewhere.

"I would rather stay here and fight for a place and give it my all and compete with the other strikers," he was quoted as saying by the Press Assocation.

"There is a lot of talent in the team but I think I am capable of competing and getting a place in the team, it's all down to hard work."

Akpom, who previously spent time with both Brentford and Coventry City, was far from the only Arsenal youth product eager to make a lasting impression before the new English domestic campaign gets under way in August.

Alex Iwobi, the nephew of Nigerian legend Jay-Jay Okocha, notched the club's third against Lyon and impressed with his general standard of play, while Jeff Rene-Adelaide provided the assist for Theo Walcott's winner on Sunday (26 July.)

With another talented young crop ready to break through, Akpom claims Wenger's trademark willingness to give hopefuls like him the chance to succeed acts as a key source of motivation.

"The boss really likes playing young players when he can and that motivates the young players because it shows them that they have a chance," he admitted.

"This season I think everyone will say there is good team spirit and cohesion since we went on tour and now so the team is looking strong and I think we have a chance of a major trophy.

"Hopefully we can keep this team strong for many years to come. There are a lot of young players coming through and everyone will be familiar with how players play and that can only make players stronger."

Arsenal meet champions Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley next week before opening their top-flight campaign at home to West Ham on 9 August.

The Hammers face a quick turnaround for that latter clash given that they are due to travel to Romania for the second leg of their Europa League third round qualifying tie against FC Astra Giurgiu just three days prior.