Benik Afobe rejected the notion that he's an failure after leaving for today's opponents Wolves.

Despite being a product of their esteemed academy and a star for England's youth teams, Afobe was farmed out on numerous loans before permanently leaving Arsenal for Wolves in 2015. And as two of his former clubs scrum down at Molineux this evening (January 25), Afobe's frank take on his Emirates Stadium departure has resurfaced.

The 31-year-old was tipped for big things as a youth and was expected to become a prominent part of Arsenal's future. He was branded by some as a flop for not breaking into the first team but reflecting on his path, his perspective is quite different.

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"I love them, love everyone at Arsenal, but it would have been nice to have got my chance because, to be honest, I don't think I got a fair chance in the first team," Afobe told in 2016. "I never made an appearance while there have been players who haven't had great Arsenal careers who played five or 10 games, but that's a story for another day.

"Maybe it was better to leave Arsenal without playing a game because everyone knows I didn't get a chance. If I had played four or five games and was terrible, you start thinking you are an Arsenal reject. For me it was just that the chance didn't come."

Afobe netted five times and provided two assists in 20 outings for Arsenal's under-21 team. There were moments when could have given him a shot in the first team as he sought forward solutions in the transfer market, but Afobe didn't impress quite enough during loan spells at Huddersfield, Bolton, Reading, and Sheffield Wednesday.

It was only in the 2014/15 campaign that he began to show signs of fulfilling his potential, scoring 19 goals in 30 games for MK Dons. His season-long stint at Stadium MK was cut short so he could move to Wolves in January 2015, and just 18 months later, he made his Premier League return with Bournemouth.

After a brief return to Molineux in 2018, Afobe joined Stoke City, then played for Bristol City and Turkish outfit Trabzonspor. In 2022, he left Europe for the UAE and is currently playing in the Qatari second division with Al-Mesaimeer, although he seems to be out of favour after not featuring in their last five matchday squads.

Afobe's first major injury came during his time at Arsenal, requiring knee surgery that kept him out for eight months. When he moved to Stoke for £12m, he suffered another serious knee injury that sidelined him for nine months, once again halting his progress.

Many supporters in England might ponder what the former England under-21 star could have accomplished if injuries and personal hurdles hadn't hindered his progress. In that event, it might have been either Arsenal boss or Wolves manager Vitor Pereira reaping the rewards of his skills in the west Midlands today.