Teammates hail Akpom’s heroics

Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom has laughed off comparisons with Thierry Henry. Alexis Sanchez has dubbed the youngster ‘Titi’ after the Gunners legend.

“One day in training with the first team I scored a Henry-type goal, cutting inside and finishing,” Akpom told said.

“I could see Sanchez jumping, he’s an enthusiastic guy at the best of times and he’s going: ‘Titi, Titi, Titi, Titi!’. The next morning he came to me and said ‘Titi.’

“Then the next morning he came to me and said ‘Titi’. Akpom asked: ‘hold on is this my new nickname?’ That’s how it came about and it’s stuck since then.

“Now the lads just call me Titi or Thierry Henry – I’ll take that. It’s not a bad comparison to have.

“He was my idol growing up. Playing for the academy and watching Arsenal’s first team I used to see players like Henry scoring every week and it really inspired me.”