BENIK Afobe is relishing working under a manager in Eddie Howe who is “second to none” – and the Cherries striker is determined to continue exerting a positive influence on the club.

Afobe has found game time difficult to come by this season but the 23-year-old insists being a key cog in a Premier League side far outweighs any short-term concerns he has about currently being consigned to bench duty.

Rather, the former Wolves forward is delighted to be learning from a boss he places on a pedestal alongside his former manager at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger.

“I was actually having this conversation with Jack Wilshere today,” Afobe told the Daily Echo, when asked if he recognised any similarities between Howe and three-time English title-winner Wenger.

“I was saying how it’s strange, because, no disrespect to Eddie, he’s not come from a big club like Arsenal or Manchester United but his training and philosophy is second to none. It’s unbelievable.

“He’s taught himself so well that you would think he’s come through a really top team. I know he will have a great managerial career.”

Asked what set Howe apart from some of the other men he had played for, Afobe pointed to his manager’s application to his trade.

He said: “He’s a hard worker. On the training field, he’s the first one on and the last one off. I know he’s the manager but I’ve played under some managers in the past who don’t even come out.

“They just send their assistants. Eddie wants to be there, trying to see how every single player can improve and he has time for them all. He’s a top man.”

While Afobe acknowledges that in a perfect world he would be regularly spearheading Cherries’ attack, he insists he is accumulating experience that will hold him in good stead for the future.

He is unwilling, then, to become too wrapped up in the increasingly frantic battle for places in Howe’s team, even accepting he "didn't have the best of games" on a rare start in Cherries' recent EFL Cup defeat by Preston.

“I don’t view it as ‘it’s me against this guy’," said Afobe. "It’s nothing like that. I always think about the squad. It’s not like the manager has personal issues with anyone. He’s a top man. He speaks to all his players. He’s never left anyone in the cold, feeling upset.

“Hopefully I can get more minutes. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to play every game. When you start playing at the ages of six and seven, the ultimate goal is to play week in, week out.

"I’m just going to work as hard as I can on the training pitch and even if I don’t start for six months or six days it doesn’t make a difference. I will always have a smile on my face and be a positive person around the place."

After having loan spells with six different clubs while with Arsenal, and then spending just one year at Wolves prior to his January move to the south coast, the Londoner is thrilled to have laid down roots at Vitality Stadium.

He said: "I’m playing for a Premier League club, where I feel at home. I have my family here and I’m enjoying life. From day one everyone has been good to me. There’s nothing I can complain about. I feel welcome and I’m enjoying my time here. Nothing will change that. I’m still learning. I’ve got a long time left in my career and a lot of big games to play.”