Benik Afobe

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Benik Afobe

Afobe playing for England U19s in 2012
Personal information
Full nameBenik Tunani Afobe[1]
Date of birth (1993-02-12) 12 February 1993
Place of birthAshford, Kent, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current clubSheffield Wednesday
(on loan from Arsenal)
Youth career
2001–2010Arsenal
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2010–Arsenal0(0)
2010–2011→ Huddersfield Town (loan)28(5)
2012→ Reading (loan)3(0)
2012–2013→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)20(2)
2013→ Millwall (loan)5(0)
2014–→ Sheffield Wednesday (loan)1(0)
National team‡
2008England U163(4)
2009–2010England U1723(11)
2010–2012England U1910(7)
2012–England U212(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:07, 5 March 2013 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Benik Tunani Afobe (born 12 February 1993) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Sheffield Wednesday on loan from 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.

Club career

Arsenal

Youth & Reserves

Afobe joined the Arsenal F.C. Academy when he was six; he was playing for Sunday league team Eclipse FC in Dagenham when he was spotted by an Arsenal scout – Gary Nott. He joined Arsenal on 1 May 2001. 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]

Huddersfield Town (loan)

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]

2011–12 season

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. Afobe made his return from injury in August for the Reserves in a 2–1 win against Man Utd Reserves,[10] however went off after just 22 minutes, ruling the striker out for over 6 months. Afobe made a goalscoring return for the Reserves in a 5–0 win against Norwich Reserves on 21 February, entering the field as a first half substitute. Afobe also missed a penalty in the match.[10]

On 22 March 2012, Afobe agreed to join English championship club Reading on loan until the end of the season.

2012–13 season

On 3 August 2012, Football League Championship club Bolton Wanderers confirmed that Afobe had joined on a season-long loan.[17][18] Afobe made his debut the following day, coming on as a substitute in Bolton's 3–0 friendly defeat at Portsmouth.[19] On 7 August, he scored a hat trick in Bolton's penultimate pre-season friendly as they beat Tranmere Rovers 3–1.[20] He made his competitive debut on 18 August, coming on as a second-half substitute for Kevin Davies, in Bolton's 2–0 defeat at Burnley. After making two more substitute appearances, he made his starting debut in the League Cup defeat at Crawley Town on 28 August, scoring in the process.[21] His first league goal for Bolton came on 23 October as he scored the first in a 2–2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[22] On 31 January 2013, Bolton cut short his deal and he returned to Arsenal.

On 8 February 2013, Afobe joined Millwall on loan until the end of the season,[23] but that deal was cancelled one month later due to an knee injury and he returned to Arsenal and underwent surgery.[24]

2013–14 season

Afobe returned from injury in late October 2013, after an eight month period on the sidelines. He scored the only goal on his return to action in a win for an Arsenal XI against the Nike Academy.[25] On 30 January 2014, Afobe joined Sheffield Wednesday for the rest of the 2013–14 campaign.[26]

International career

England Juniors

He captained England under-12s at the Junior World Cup in France in 2005.[27]

In 2008, Afobe was part of the England U-16 team that won the Victory Shield, scoring four goals in three games,[28][29] equalling Michael Owen's England U-16 record.[30] He was also part of the England U-17 squad that won the U-17 European Championship in May 2010.[3][31] The Guardian's sports blog called him "among the best of the crop" and "a prolific striker".[32] He joined the England U-19 squad in August 2010.[33] 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. He was born in Leyton, and he has two sisters and one brother.[27] He attended Monteagle Primary School and Jo Richardson Community School both in Dagenham.

Career statistics

As of 13 April 2012.[34]
Club Season League Cup[35] Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Huddersfield Town (loan) 2010–11 2854300328
Reading (loan) 2011–12 30000030
Bolton Wanderers (loan) 2012–13 1621100173
Millwall (loan) 2012–13 50000050
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2013–14 10000010
Career total 52 7 5 4 0 0 57 11

Honours

England
Arsenal
Reading

References

  1. ↑ "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/08/2012 and 31/08/2012" (PDF). The Football Association. Retrieved 10 October 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Player Profile: Benik Afobe". Premier League. Retrieved 31 January 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Magowan, Alistair (31 May 2010). "England U-17s beat Spain to win European Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  4. ↑ "Beni joined arsenal ink Afobe". Arsenal.com. April 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  5. ↑ "2009/10 Player Review: Benik Afobe". Arsenal F.C. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  6. ↑ Lewis, Alex (12 August 2010). "Three more Arsenal starlets with an England future". The First Post. Retrieved 14 August 2010. 
  7. ↑ Dawson, Alan (22 February 2010). "Barcelona Target Benik Afobe Signs Professional Contract With Arsenal". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  8. ↑ "Leyton teen signs for Premier League Arsenal". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  9. ↑ James, Stuart (9 August 2010). "The teams that block England's path to Euro 2012 qualification". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "The season preview: Arsenal". The Guardian. 9 August 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Terriers loan Arsenal starlet". Sky Sports. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  12. ↑ "Sheff Wed 0 – 2 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  13. ↑ "Lee Clark hails 'complete' Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010. 
  14. ↑ "Rotherham 1–5 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 9 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010. 
  15. ↑ "Brighton 2–3 Huddersfield". Huddersfield Town F.C. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Huddersfield 4–4 Brentford". Huddersfield Town F.C. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011. 
  17. ↑ "Afobe Joins on Loan". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 3 August 2012. 
  18. ↑ "Afobe joins Bolton on loan for the season". Arsenal.com. 3 August 2012. 
  19. ↑ "Report: Portsmouth 3 Wanderers 0". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 4 August 2012. 
  20. ↑ "Report: Tranmere 1 Wanderers 3". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 7 August 2012. 
  21. ↑ "Crawley 2–1 Bolton". BBC Sport. 28 August 2012. 
  22. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/9629134/Wolverhampton-2-Bolton-Wanderers-2-match-report.html
  23. ↑ "Benik Afobe: Arsenal striker agrees Millwall loan move". BBC Sport. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. 
  24. ↑ "Benik Afobe: Knee injury curtails Millwall loan spell". BBC Sports. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013. 
  25. ↑ http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/pictures-arsenal-xi-v-nike-xi?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arsenal-news+(News+Feed)
  26. ↑ "Benik Afobe joins Sheffield Wednesday". Sheffield Wednesday FC. 30 January 2014. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Trainis, Neil (26 February 2006). "Living the dream that’s brave Benik". Barking and Dagenham Post. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  28. ↑ "Lions win Victory Shield". The Football Association. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  29. ↑ "Afobe wins it for Lions". The Football Association. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  30. ↑ Troup, Jon (28 November 2008). "Gunner make history at 15". The Sun. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  31. ↑ Lavery, Glenn (17 May 2010). "Silverware wanted: Benik Afobe reveals Young Lions' hunger for Euro glory". The Football Association. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  32. ↑ Taylor, Louise (31 May 2010). "England turn the tables on Spain with new brand of possession football". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  33. ↑ Veevers, Nicholas (12 August 2010). "Blake names squad for Slovakia". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 August 2010. 
  34. ↑ "Statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
  35. ↑ Includes Football League Trophy, FA Cup and League Cup

External links

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. – current squad
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