Nigerian Winger Omitted From Arsenal FAYC Squad Ahead Of Possible Home Debut; Balogun Strikes

Published: December 13, 2018

Nigerian winger Bukayo Saka was omitted from the Arsenal squad for their FA Youth Cup clash against Northampton Town on Wednesday, a strong hint that he will be named in the provisional squad when the first team tackle Qarabag tonight.

If the 17-year-old steps out onto the Emirates Stadium pitch against the Azerbaijani opponents, it would be his first-ever appearance for the first team in a home fixture, having made his professional debut against Vorskla Poltava in Ukraine on November 29.

According to Arsenal youth-team guru Jeorge Bird, Saka was at Meadow Park to cheer his teammates on Wednesday.

Four players of Nigerian descent were named in the Gunners 18 vs Northampton Town but only two in the shape of James Olayinka and Folarin Balogun made the starting line-up.

Arsenal sealed their place in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Folarin Balogun and Zak Swanson.

On 35 minutes, Balogun sent a low drive into the net to open the scoring for the Londoners, his 13th goal in all competitions for the U18s so far this season.

Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo was an unused substitute and Mazeed Ogungbo came off the bench on the hour mark.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : arsenal.com