Benik Afobe

Benik Afobe
Personal information
Full name Benik Tunani Afobe[1]
Date of birth 12 February 1993 (1993-02-12) (age 19)
Place of birth Leyton, London, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position Striker , Forward
Club information
Current club Arsenal
Number 33
Youth career
2001–2010 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2010– Arsenal 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Huddersfield Town (loan) 28 (5)
National team‡
2008 England U16 3 (4)
2009–2010 England U17 23 (11)
2010– England U19 4 (4)
2011- England U20 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 7, 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 29, 2011

Benik Tunani Afobe (born 12 February 1993) is an English footballer of Congolese descent from Leyton, London who plays as a striker for Arsenal.

He made his debut for the Arsenal Reserves at the age of 16 and scored 11 goals in 13 appearances for Arsenal's under 18 squad. He was part of the England squad that won the U-17 European Championship in May 2010.[3] He signed a professional contract with Arsenal in February 2010.

Contents

Club career

Arsenal

Afobe joined the Arsenal F.C. Academy when he was six; he was playing for a Sunday team in Dagenham when he was spotted by an Arsenal scout. He scored 40 goals for the U-16s in 2007–08,[4] 11 goals in 13 appearances in 2008–09, and 21 goals in 24 appearances for Arsenal U-18 in 2009–10.[5] He was voted Arsenal's U-18 player of the season.[6] He signed a professional contract with Arsenal in February 2010, after reportedly being targeted by Barcelona.[7][8] The Guardian has called him "powerful and pacy"[9] and commented that he "is already being furtively whispered up as the next, next big thing."[10] Afobe impressed on his first-team debut for Arsenal in the 2011 Emirates Cup against American side New York Red Bulls. He came on for the injured Jack Wilshere on 7 minutes, however he was then substituted on 74 minutes for Andrey Arshavin as he had a groin injury.

Loan to Huddersfield Town

On 2 November 2010, he agreed on terms to join West Yorkshire club Huddersfield Town on loan until December 2010.[11] He made his debut as a substitute the same night in the 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough Stadium.[12] After the game, Huddersfield manager Lee Clark praised Afobe, calling him "another fantastic young player from the Arsenal production line."[13] Afobe scored his first goals in professional football as Huddersfield beat Rotherham United 5–2 away from home in the Football League Trophy. Afobe made it 3–1 with a clinical header inside the box, before finishing off the scoring with a well-taken finish in the second half.[14] Following a broken leg to Anthony Pilkington, Benik got an extended run in the Huddersfield starting line-up in the second half of the season which saw him pick up four Man of the Match awards in a row, which also included 5 goals and a number of important assists, taking Huddersfield's unbeaten record from December to 24 league games. Despite Benik's and Huddersfield's great form, they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion and lost in the final of the play-offs. In total Benik made 32 appearances with 8 goals and 10 assists for the Terriers.[15][16]

International career

He captained England under-12s at the Junior World Cup in France in 2005.[17]

In 2008, Afobe was part of the England U-16 team that won the Victory Shield, scoring four goals in three games,[18][19] equalling Michael Owen's England U-16 record.[20] He was also part of the England U-17 squad that won the U-17 European Championship in May 2010.[3][21] The Guardian's sports blog called him "among the best of the crop" and "a prolific striker".[22] He joined the England U-19 squad in August 2010.[23] In June 2011, Afobe was called to England U-20 team for the Fifa U-20 world cup in Colombia. However he was withdrawn from the squad from Arsenal to join in the first team Pre Season camp in Germany. Afobe was also called up to replace Manchester United's Danny Welbeck from England u21s in August, however he pulled out again due to his groin injury once again.

Personal life

His father Afobe moved to the UK from Congo with his wife in 1990 due to political unrest. He was born in Leyton, and he has two sisters and one brother.[17] He attended Monteagle Primary School and Jo Richardson Community School both in Dagenham.

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of 7 May 2011[24]
Club Season League Cup[25] Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Arsenal 2010-11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Huddersfield Town (Loan) 2010-11 28 5 8 4 3 2 0 0 0 32 8 10
Arsenal 2011-12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 28 5 8 4 3 2 0 0 0 32 8 10

Honours

Arsenal
International

References

  1. ^ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. http://www.findmypast.co.uk/birth-indexes-search-start.action. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  2. ^ Profile
  3. ^ a b Magowan, Alistair (31 May 2010). "England U-17s beat Spain to win European Championship". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8713980.stm. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  4. ^ "Benik Afobe". Arsenal.com. April 2008. http://younggunsblog.co.uk/Benik-Afobe/. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  5. ^ "2009/10 Player Review: Benik Afobe". Arsenal.com. 14 June 2010. http://www.arsenal.com/news/reserves-news/2009/10-player-review-benik-afobe. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  6. ^ Lewis, Alex (12 August 2010). "Three more Arsenal starlets with an England future". The First Post. http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/67129,sport,football,benik-afobe-chuks-aneke-and-emmanuel-frimpong-three-more-arsenal-starlets-with-an-england-future. Retrieved 14 August 2010. 
  7. ^ Dawson, Alan (22 February 2010). "Barcelona Target Benik Afobe Signs Professional Contract With Arsenal". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/222/transfer-zone/2010/02/22/1802366/barcelona-target-benik-afobe-signs-professional-contract. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  8. ^ "Leyton teen signs for Premier League Arsenal". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 24 February 2010. http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/sport/5025338.Leyton_teen_signs_for_Premier_League_Arsenal/. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  9. ^ James, Stuart (9 August 2010). "The teams that block England's path to Euro 2012 qualification". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/09/england-football-euro-2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
  10. ^ "The season preview: Arsenal". The Guardian. 9 August 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/09/the-season-preview-arsenal. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
  11. ^ "Terriers loan Arsenal starlet". SkySports.com. 2 November 2010. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_6482878,00.html. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  12. ^ "Sheff Wed 0 - 2 Huddersfield". BBCsport. 2 November 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/9119093.stm. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  13. ^ "Lee Clark hails 'complete' Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 2 November 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/huddersfield_town/9152821.stm. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  14. ^ "Rotherham 1-5 Huddersfield". BBCsport. 9 November 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9156466.stm. Retrieved 9 November 2010. 
  15. ^ [+ http://www.htafc.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10312~52511,00.html "Brighton 2-3 Huddersfield"]. Huddersfield FC. 30 April 2011. + http://www.htafc.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10312~52511,00.html. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
  16. ^ [+ http://www.htafc.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10312~52547,00.html "Huddersfield 4-4 Brentford"]. Huddersfield FC. 7 May 2011. + http://www.htafc.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10312~52547,00.html. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
  17. ^ a b Trainis, Neil (26 February 2006). "Living the dream that’s brave Benik". Barking and Dagenham Post. http://www.bdpost.co.uk/content/barkinganddagenham/post/sport/story.aspx?brand=BDPOnline&category=sportfootball&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=sportbdp&itemid=WeED22%20Feb%202006%2016%3A05%3A19%3A530. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  18. ^ "Lions win Victory Shield". TheFA.com. 28 November 2008. http://www.thefa.com/England/Mens-u16s/news/2009/u16vscotland_match_report. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  19. ^ "Afobe wins it for Lions". TheFA.com. 31 October 2008. http://www.thefa.com/England/mens-u16s/News/2009/U16vWales_match_report. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  20. ^ Troup, Jon (28 November 2008). "Gunner make history at 15". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1981536.ece. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  21. ^ Lavery, Glenn (17 May 2010). "Silverware wanted: Benik Afobe reveals Young Lions' hunger for Euro glory". The FA. http://www.thefa.com/England/mens-u17s/News/match-centre/2010/England%20v%20Czech%20Republic/Previews/BenikAfobe. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  22. ^ Taylor, Louise (31 May 2010). "England turn the tables on Spain with new brand of possession football". The Sport Blog (The Guardian). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/may/31/england-under-17-european-championships. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  23. ^ Veevers, Nicholas (12 August 2010). "Blake names squad for Slovakia". The FA. http://www.thefa.com/England/mens-u19s/News/2010/slovakia-squad-120810. Retrieved 14 August 2010. 
  24. ^ "Statistics". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=57575. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  25. ^ Includes Football League Trophy, FA Cup and League Cup

External links

Arsenal F.C. – current squad
England squad – 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship