by Mosope Ominiyi

Arsenal Ladies manager Pedro Losa believes that Chioma Ubogagu has asserted herself as a key component in the Gunners side.

The American forward, who joined the north Londoners five months ago from Stanford University, has already made a name for herself in the Women’s Super League. Losa stated that every player in the squad is capable of playing regularly, and young players such as Chioma even more so.

She netted the only goal of the game in a nervy 1-0 victory over Birmingham on Sunday evening at the end of a well-worked move, and her boss highlighted her out as one of the players who took their opportunity to impress. Herself and Leah Williamson, who put in a solid shift at defensive midfield, did their ever-growing reputations no harm whatsoever.

German defender Luisa Wensing (L) fights for the ball with US forward Chioma Ubogagu (R) during the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Japan final match at the national stadium in Tokyo on September 8, 2012. USA beat Germany by 1-0 to get the U-20 World Cup title. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA
German defender Luisa Wensing (L) fights for the ball with US forward Chioma Ubogagu (R) during the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Japan final match at the national stadium in Tokyo on September 8, 2012. USA beat Germany by 1-0 to get the U-20 World Cup title. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

He went on to talk about her background, and the fact her family are all Arsenal fans – therefore it’s important for someone like her to identify with the project they have on offer, having been given the opportunity in the top flight of English football from the college leagues in the USA.

He described her as ‘a player who is very creative, who can find a goal very quickly and those are her best qualities.’

Losa also praised her clinical ability in-front of goal, saying she’s ‘very strong at finishing’ and also ‘very good on one-on-ones.’

She’ll be hoping to continue improving her game and stay in the first-team plans for the rest of the campaign and beyond with the season beginning to intensify at the top of the table. Chelsea lead by just two points, but only six points split the top five teams in the league with six matches left to play.

Ubogagu’s quick feet, blistering speed and ability to skip past defenders with relative ease, as well as her visual awareness are just a few of her qualities, which are a handful to stop.