Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hails Chuba Akpom

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed teenage striker Chuba Akpom to establish himself as a first-team player in the future.

The 17-year-old signed a professional contract with the London club in October and was part of the Gunners' squad for their Champions League game against Olympiacos in Greece on Tuesday.

"He has personality [and] he has quality," Wenger told Arsenal's official website. "I wanted him to be with the first team, taste what it is [to be involved] in a Champions League game, and hopefully he will join us very quickly. It could happen very soon.

"He's more a guy who likes to participate in the build up, a guy who is brave, a guy who makes good runs and is not a typical goal chaser.

"Where he must improve is to finish things off. But he creates for others, he creates for himself, and just needs to be a bit calmer for the finishing. That's something he will get easily."

Akpom has scored three goals for the England Under-19 side this season and is also part of the Arsenal Under-21 team.