Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, has promoted two 17-year-old players of Nigerian heritage into first team training on Tuesday, just one day before the Gunners face Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabéu.
Josh Ogunnaike and Ife Ibrahim were among the academy players chosen to practice with the first team at the Arsenal Training Centre in Colney, located north of London.
Ibrahim and Ogunnaike began the 2024-2025 season as first-year scholars and have both trained with the first team several times this season.
However, these two players, who are eligible to represent the Golden Eaglets, have not yet been called up to the first team.
Ibrahim is a skilled and adaptable midfielder who excels in one-on-one situations and can also play as a fullback when necessary.
Ogunnaike is a sharp left-back who is great at one-on-one defending and isn’t hesitant to push forward.
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In today’s training session, fullbacks Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, along with midfielders Martin Ødegaard, Ethan Nwaneri, Thomas Partey, and Declan Rice were all present.
This makes it unlikely that Ogunnaike and Ibrahim will be included in the traveling team heading to Spain.
This season, Ogunnaike made his debut in Premier League 2, while Ibrahim played in four FA Youth Cup matches and also made his first appearance in the UEFA Youth League.
Another academy player of Nigerian heritage, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, also trained with the first team, and it is almost certain that he will be part of the squad traveling to Madrid.
