The Nigerian international will make only his second senior appearance at the Emirates Stadium when Hull visit on Saturday, despite once being regarded as one of Arsenal's most promising academy prospects. The fixture comes just two days before his 33rd birthday, a reminder of how far his career has travelled since he joined the club in 2013.
Ajayi had been at Charlton Athletic when he impressed Arsenal sufficiently to earn a move to north London at the age of 19. He was given opportunities to train with the first team and named on the bench four times during his two years under Wenger.
He even appeared to be in contention to become an understudy to Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, but the arrival of Gabriel Paulista changed the picture. Wenger eventually explained that he could not offer the young defender the first-team opportunities he wanted.
Ajayi subsequently tried to find another route into senior football, having trials at Sunderland, Ipswich Town and Ajax before joining Cardiff City on a free transfer. That move did not immediately provide the breakthrough either, with no senior appearances for the Bluebirds and loan spells at Wimbledon, Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham.
It was at Crewe that he began to demonstrate what he could do in regular first-team football. Former manager Steve Davis remembers the defender's determination, but also a moment of technical quality that made him stand out.
“He had great expectations on his shoulders, but we didn’t put that pressure on him. We just wanted to give him the game time and a platform to show himself and it really was down to him,” Davis told The Sun.
“We can pick him and he’s got to do the business on the pitch, and he did. But that’s just his attitude. He had the determination to prove people wrong.”
Davis recalled a match against Walsall when Ajayi stepped forward and produced an extraordinary pass to create a goal for Brad Inman.
“I remember the Walsall game when he made the goal for Brad, he stepped forward into space and hit this almighty 70-yard diagonal pass to the left wing. It was straight to his feet and I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve not seen many centre-halves that could do that’.”
Ajayi eventually established himself at Rotherham before earning a move to West Bromwich Albion. He made 33 Premier League appearances during the 2020-21 season, including a 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates. That was his first senior appearance at the stadium, played behind closed doors during the Covid period.
Now a key figure for Hull, with 59 Nigeria caps, he returns in front of the supporters who once might have imagined him becoming an Arsenal regular.
Davis believes the setbacks helped shape the player who eventually reached the top flight.
“He wasn’t ready back then and he’s taken a different pathway, but he’s taken a difficult pathway as well. It’s not easy to drop down. It takes guts, determination, and great belief in yourself.”
Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic has described Ajayi's season as excellent and made clear he has no intention of losing him. The defender's return is therefore not a farewell visit, but an opportunity to show Arsenal how the career they once declined to offer him has developed.