Arsenal down the history lane have forged a reputation of nurturing Nigerians from their Hale End Academy to first team materials, and that trend is unlikely to end anytime soon.


With the departure of Unai Emery and the installation of caretaker manager Freddie Ljungberg on Friday, one will expect the Swedish gaffer to blood in some of the starlets he has closely worked with into the senior setup.

Prominent among these ones are Tolaji Bola, Joseph Olowu, Folarin Balogun, James Olayinka and Arthur Okonkwo.

So we present the reasons why they are primed to benefit from the promotion of the 42-year-old who will take charge of first team duties for the time been,

Ljungberg is more a mentor to these starlets: Ljungberg will want to take these players under his arms, as he knows what it means to them to make senior debuts at the Emirates Stadium.

Moreover, most of them do take him as a role model due to the legendary status he carved out for himself at the club during his playing days.

He has first-hand knowledge of their capabilities: The Swede started out his managerial career with the club's U-15s in July 2016 and was serving as the reserves manager up until he joined the senior backroom staff.

Having observed at close quarters these young players during his time in the academy, he knows best what they can produce and when to unleash them.


Ljungberg will attempt to take a leaf out of his books and make his mark in that regard, and it will be one or two of these Nigerians who benefits from it and breaks through the ranks next.