Arsenal: Kelechi Nwakali Pulling Ultimate Leapfrog

Arsenal have handed Kelechi Nwakali the number he wanted, which may not seem like much, but could he be ticketed for immediate exposure?

I have been doing a lot of delving into Kelechi Nwakali lately. It’s impossible to not be impressed with what you see. It’s so clear why the young Nigerian likens himself to Yaya Toure. He has a tireless engine, gets back on defense and knows how to pick out a pass. He is everything Wenger (or anyone) could want in a midfielder.

But more than that, he is just 18 years of age, he won the U17 World Cup as the captain of Nigeria and took the Golden Ball as well. Not long ago I pointed out that nothing is a guarantee, that only Kroos and Fabregas have won the golden ball and made a career out of it, but Nwakali has the makings to be exactly what Arsenal need for the long run.

And apparently, he may be making that impact a lot sooner than expected.

Most of Arsenal’s youngsters do not have very noticeable numbers. Jeff Reine-Adelaide is No. 54. Krystian Bielik is No. 37. The list goes on. These outrageously talented teenagers still have their academy numbers that won’t serve them in the first team.

That is exemplified by Alex Iwobi landing the No. 17 kit to take the place of his previous, academy number, 45.

Take it how you will, but Kelechi Nwakali has been handed his idol and countryman’s former Arsenal number – Kanu’s No. 25.

I told you to take it how you will, but there are very few ways to take that. Nwakali could be making the ultimate leapfrog, having just joined when he turned 18. The number changes have been made, and clearly last years ‘big time talents’ like Reine-Adelaide and Bielik were rendered unqualified to take on a first team number, despite many of them being available. That leads us to believe that they are to remain in the academy another year, unless needed.

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Not Nwakali, though. The Nigerian grabbed a premium number, the very number he wanted. He appears to be set for first team duties with Arsenal.

There is no doubting the kid’s talent, but we have to wonder where exactly he would fit in. Surprisingly, I do see a bit of a window for Nwakali to fit in. Arsenal lost Flamini, Rosicky and Arteta and have thus far only replaced them with Granit Xhaka. I reckon Jon Toral will be up for replacing another slot, but that leaves one other opening.

Initially, I would have banked on Bielik or Reine-Adelaide landing the role, maybe even Daniel Crowley or Gedion Zelalem. But it looks like Wenger has another idea in mind – give it to Nwakali.

To be fair. Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City made an almost instantaneous transition from Golden Ball winner to Premier League relevance. Why can’t his countryman do the same?

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Arsenal may have a congested midfield, but with so many moving parts and so many competitions, it’s not unreasonable to think that Nwakali could show us what he’s made of this coming season.

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