Chuba Akpom is starting to really make his mark with new club PAOK in Greece, scoring two goals and assisting one in an impressive individual performance on Sunday.

Chuba Akpom during PAOK's 4-0 win over OFI Crete on Sunday 27th January 2019, via PAOKFC.gr
Chuba Akpom during PAOK’s 4-0 win over OFI Crete on Sunday 27th January 2019, via PAOKFC.gr

After completing a summer move from Arsenal to PAOK, Akpom took a while to get into the starting lineup. The Greek club had a couple of established strikers already, and they raced to the top of the league table, making it hard for the Englishman to find a way in.

That’s changed this month, with former PAOK forward Aleksandar Prijovic completing a £9m move away. Finally, Akpom has had his chance, making his first league start two weeks ago.

After a couple of games of adaptation, the striker found his feet last week. First, he won PAOK’s fan man-of-the-match award with an assist in a cup win over Panachaiki. Then, he built on that performance with two goals and an assist against OFI Crete in the league, winning Vodafone’s MVP award for the game.

Chuba Akpom with his teammates during PAOK's 4-0 win over OFI Crete on Sunday 27th January 2019, via PAOKFC.gr
Chuba Akpom with his teammates during PAOK’s 4-0 win over OFI Crete on Sunday 27th January 2019, via PAOKFC.gr

Including substitute appearances, that puts the 23-year-old on four goals and two assists in his last nine games, or one goal contribution every 95 minutes. If he can keep that up starting more regularly, he’ll be a big hit for PAOK.

You can check out the full highlights of the match below. Akpom’s first goal, assist and second goal are at 2:30, 3:52, and 4:20 in the video respectively. The second goal is particularly worth a look, an impressive finish from outside the box:

It’s great to see an Arsenal academy graduate having an impact in a team challenging for trophies. Good luck to Chuba for the rest of the season!