'It’s unreal' - U21s coach reacts to Butler-Oyedeji making his first team debut for Arsenal

Arsenal U21s coach Mehmet Ali was full of praise for Nigerian forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji following his first team debut for the Gunners in a Champions League encounter against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, January 22.

Wearing the number 37 on the back of his jersey, Butler-Oyedeji hopped off the bench to replace Gabriel Martinelli in the second minute of second half stoppage time, with the outcome of the game all but decided thanks to goals from 
Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard.

A product of Arsenal's Hale End Academy, Butler-Oyedeji was an unused substitute in eleven matches before he was handed his senior debut by manager Mikel Arteta. 

The 22-year-old was rewarded with a senior debut following his recent impressive performances for Arsenal's development squad, registering 8 goals and 6 assists for the development squad.

Two days after his first appearance in an official game for Arsenal's senior team, Butler-Oyedeji was back in action for the development squad, playing the first half of a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League 2.

Speaking to Arsenal's official webpage after the win over Forest, Ali stated: "It’s unreal for Nathan, the way that the boys were on the bench went to congratulate him after, the way that our boss had the faith and trust to bring him on the pitch.

"Nathan is someone who is an older player but what he does every single day in terms of his professionalism, how he’s a role model for the younger lads, he goes over and trains with the first team, he deserved that (first-team appearance), he earned that and that’s what our manager is all about.

"It’s not a given, you don’t just get that, that’s a lot of hard work that’s contributed to Nathan getting on the pitch and he played tonight so I’m really proud of him and he just needs to keep going and keep pushing."

Oyedeji is the fourth player of Nigerian descent to be handed a debut by Arteta, following in the footsteps of Ethan Nwaneri, Miguel Azeez and Josh Nichols. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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