Healthy Rivalry Between Arsenal's Nigerian Wingers : Amaechi Scores, Wins Penalty; Saka Nets Brace

Published: January 15, 2019

The healthy rivalry between two Nigerian wingers at Arsenal, Bukayo Saka and Xavier Amaechi, continued on Monday as the Gunners hammered Manchester City 5-1 in a Premier League 2 contest at Meadow Park.

It is strongly believed that Amaechi would have made his first-team debut for the Gunners if not for an injury he suffered while on international duty with England U18s early September.

While Saka has received a lot of accolades from Nigerians, in truth, Amaechi was regarded as Nigeria's most promising talent at the Emirates Stadium outfit prior to his spell on the sidelines.

Four players of Nigerian descent made the starting line-up in yesterday's game, Saka and Amaechi for Arsenal, Nathanael Ogbeta and Felix Nmecha for Manchester City.

It was the left winger that gave Arsenal the lead after four minutes, firing into the far corner for his fourth goal in the league and it became 2-0 five minutes later when Robbie Burton converted a spot kick after Amaechi was felled in the box.

Five minutes into the second half, Saka pounced on a free ball inside the penalty area for his second of the match and gave the home team a commanding 4-1 lead in the process before Amaechi rounded off the scoring in the 66th minute.

Since Amaechi's return from injury on December 17, he has been directly involved in 4 goals ( 2 goals, 2 assists) in three games while Saka has had a hand in 3 goals (2 goals, 1 assist) in his last three games for the U23s.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : arsenal.com