He had the same nickname as Thierry Henry at Arsenal, then Neil Warnock suggested his success was a fluke

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Arsenal have seen talent come and go from Hale End, with one graduate having quite the story to tell.

It was only in the summer that Mikel Arteta allowed Hale End duo Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe to depart the Emirates. 

The pair had risen alongside Bukayo Saka but, for various reasons, were unable to have an impact as great as the winger at Arsenal. 

Nketiah and Smith Rowe aren’t the only ones not to fulfill a substantial journey in the first team at the club, with plenty of others flying the nest to find a place to call home elsewhere. 

• READ MORE: Arsenal fans create fantastic new chant for Saka, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly with Hale End academy nod

Chuba Akpom’s Thierry Henry-inspired nickname from Alexis Sanchez

One player who left in search of consistency in his career was Chuba Akpom, who flew through the ranks at Hale End to make 12 senior appearances for Arsenal. 

Though Akpom never had a firm grip on his future at Arsenal, the now 29-year-old was highly rated in N5, as Alexis Sanchez made known. 

In 2014, The Independent noted that Sanchez had branded Akpom ‘Titi’, calling the former striker by Thierry Henry’s nickname. 

The Arsenal academy product made his nickname known to the world as he captioned an Instagram picture with the following message.

“Training this morning with Lexis! He calls me “Titi” (Thierry) funny guy lool.”

Sanchez enjoyed calling Akpom ‘Titi’, seeing shades of Henry in the then 19-year-old forward, but sadly, no further comparisons to Arsenal’s record goalscorer materialised beyond the nickname.

Neil Warnock was unmoved by Akpom

After leaving Arsenal in 2018, Akpom has played in Greece, the Netherlands, England and France, where he currently represents LOSC Lille. 

In England, the striker played for Middlesbrough, where, before securing a £12m transfer to Ajax, he enjoyed a 29-goal season in the Championship. 

Though the forward’s form over the 2022/23 campaign might have had those at Arsenal blushing over the talent they had lost, one figure once close to the player had a different verdict.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post in 2023, after Akpom’s move to Ajax, his former manager Neil Warnock had doubts over the validity of the ex-Arsenal man’s high-scoring season. 

“We saw him [Akpom] on videos [at POAK] doing the things he did last year,” Warnock said, addressing Michael Carrick’s decision to sell Akpom.

“He didn’t do it for me or anybody else really, before Michael [Carrick] came along. He’s got to take enormous credit, especially to get the sort of fee they got.”

Warnock went on to share his doubt that Akpom would’ve performed for more than ‘one year’ at Boro. 

“If I am honest, I am not sure people at the club will be too disappointed he has gone and they have got that sort of money. Michael got one year out of him, and I’m not sure he’d be able to do that again.”

The season after Akpom’s exit from Middlesbrough, the striker scored 11 Eredivisie goals for Ajax before scoring just three in the first half of 2024/25, leading him to be sent on loan to Lille, where he’s scored twice in Ligue 1.

Sadly, Warnock’s comments carry some weight, symbolising unfulfilled potential in the Hale End star who was once seen as Henry’s successor by his Arsenal teammates.