Wenger – Why I let Afobe leave
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has explained the reasons why he allowed Benik Afobe to leave the club for Wolves last January.
The forward had a stunning season with Wolves before signing a £10m deal in which he joined Bournemouth on the 10th January, with many Arsenal supporters admitting their regret at Wenger’s decision to allow him to leave.
Since August 2014, the 22-year-old has scored 42 goals in all competitions across England, only Sergio Aguero (43) and Harry Kane (45) have netted on more occasions.
Wenger, however, has no regrets over allowing the new-Bournemouth man to leave, as per reports from the club’s official website.
He has the qualities to integrate into a team like Bournemouth, whose game is based on movement, pace and quick football.
I must say I am very happy for Benik because he had an outstanding attitude here and I am very pleased he has done well.
It is a good opportunity for him and I hope he will be successful there. Sometimes you have to let people go who are not completely ready for us, knowing that they could be successful. When they are like Benik, I am very happy because we have contributed to his success and I hope he will have a long and good career.
The Frenchman then discussed Afobe’s price tag of £10m – a number he claims is ‘no risk’ due to the money a club receives for staying in the top division.
I believe it’s a normal price for a player who wants to play in the Premier League as a striker, £10 million is not excessive.
He has scored goals in the lower leagues and the risk is not massive considering Bournemouth will take advantage of the extra money that will come in at the end of the season.
Afobe will have his first opportunity to impress at Premier League level on Tuesday evening, when the Cherries host Slaven Bilic’s West Ham United at the Vitality Stadium.