Then Thomas Vermaelen got hurt.
The tour is the perfect time to try and get Arsene Wenger’s attention, to try and make a case for being included in this year’s first team.
Chuks made the squad, along with other young midfielders like Thomas Eisfeld, Kristofer Olsson, and Gedion Zelalem. The challenge is to play better than the others and impress Arsene Wenger.
Alas, Vermaelen’s injury meant that the squad had just three centre backs (Mertesacker, Koscielny, and Miquel). Add to that the recent departures of Djourou and Squillaci and Arsenal are severely lacking in defenders.
So Arsene Wenger has moved Aneke to defence to fill in the gap. If this was just temporary then that wouldn’t be so bad. However, this is the time that Aneke was hoping to impress the boss.
Inevitably he’ll make mistakes and Aneke will feel Steve Bould’s wrath and wonder why he’s being punished and not having a chance to strut his attacking skills.
The only reason he has been moved back is because he’s a big and muscular young man who can physically meet the requirements of the needed position.
If only Arsene Wenger had moved faster to buy a centre back (such as Ashley Williams), he would have allowed young Chuks Aneke the chance to prove himself.
Aneke would benefit by staying with the first team, particularly until December, where he could replace Abou Diaby, a very similar player, and have a real chance to show Wenger what he can offer. Hopefully Wenger will give him a genuine chance.