Arsenal Eyeing Up World Cup Winning Nigerian Sensations

With the transfer window almost upon us, Arsenal has succumbed to their old ways of going for wonderkids first and foremost. Victor Osimhen is just the latest.

I was being just the slightest bit facetious when I cited ‘another wonderkid’ on Arsene Wenger’s Christmas list. But alas, there is no hiding from Arsene Wenger’s true colors at Arsenal. Nor should we want to, honestly. The more wonderkids Arsenal have, the greatest the odds that one of them will make the leap to a world-class talent.

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The latest teenage sensation to be heavily linked to Arsenal is Nigerian U17 sensation Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian’s won the U17 World Cup, and that exposure has put Arsenal hot on the trail of at least two of the Nigerian teenagers.

The first, who was talked about several months ago, is the captain of the U17 side, Kelechi Nwakali. Nwakali is likened to Yaya Toure, which should have Arsenal fans lining up to voice their support of the potential signing, particularly after what Toure did to Arsenal in the wake of the Citizens’ loss. Nwakali has stated how much he loves Arsenal, despite his brother playing for Manchester City.

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However, since those initial rumors broke through, a second Nigerian sensation has been linked to Arsenal. As mentioned before, that is Victor Osimhen. The young striker scored a whopping ten goals in seven games for the Nigerian U17s and he scored a goal in the final against Mali as well. The young Nigerian has the makings of a striker that will never struggle to score.

Reports from the Metro are indicating that Osimhen is currently flipping a metaphorical coin to choose between Wolfsburg and Arsenal. The youngster said “‘I spoke with the [Wolfsburg] coach who also made several promises and if I eventually choose to sign for them, I hope they’ll keep their word. But I have not decided where to go yet because Arsenal are also showing strong interests and perhaps after my visit to the club, I will have a clear view of where I want to go.”

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What it sounds like it is going to come down to is whether or not Arsenal table an offer. Osimhen reportedly traveled to Arsenal to check out the facilities and after that he will make his decision. It is well established how well Arsene Wenger treats youngsters that he is interested in. So many players, from Hector Bellerin to Aaron Ramsey, cited the main reason that they chose Arsenal over anywhere else is because Wenger made them feel wanted. And when you look at the success those two, among many others, have found at Arsenal, you can see that it is more than just empty words. Wenger is serious when he lays out his plans for these youngsters.

If Osimhen has any chance of replicating his insane scoring ways at a senior level, than Wenger should have no problems shoehorning him into Arsenal’s plans. The Gunners have been starved for striking options lately, with very little existing behind Olivier Giroud. Chuba Akpom and Donyell Malen are on the rise, but aside from those two, not much is going on at the striker role. Yassin Fortune has a good deal of hype as well, but when it comes to youth products, it never hurts to have a surplus.

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Wolfsburg cannot offer Osimhen the same treatment that Arsenal can. Let’s just hope that the young Nigerian sees it the same way.