Arsenal are ‘locked in a chase’ for young Nigerian starlet Akinkunmi Amoo as well as Samson Tijani and Olatomi Olaniyan according to media reports in the country.

The trio starred as the Eaglets bounced back from a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Burkina Faso to win 5-1 against the Ivory Coast in the U17 AFCON qualifiers.

Amoo was named man of the match for that game on Thursday with Arsenal scouts watching on. He also scored from the penalty spot after 57 minutes.

Akinkunmi Amoo
Akinkunmi Amoo

Samson Tijani, meanwhile is a defensive midfielder while Olatomi Olaniyan is a midfielder described as the Eaglet’s ‘engine room’.

Olaniyan found the net twice against the Baby Elephants, opening the scoring in Thursday’s game with the first goal after just six minutes and the second three minutes later when he finished off a swift counterattack.

Ajax and Anderlecht scouts were also in attendance.

Arsenal have already named their Premier League squad for the season and it currently contains 11 Nigerians.

Alex Iwobi, currently sidelined with illness and set to miss out on the Super Eagles AFCON qualifier, is the most senior name on the list.

Now 22, Iwobi represents one of Arsenal’s homegrown players on the list and is the only Nigerian to represent the club so far this season.

Then comes Eddie Nketiah who is expected to see first-team action this season, especially in the Carabao Cup and Europa League group stages.

The remaining nine players are all youngsters and classed as u21.

They are: Ryan Alebiousu, Xavier Amaechi, Folarin Balogun, Tolaji Bola, Arthur Okonkwo, James Olayinka, Joseph Olowu, Tobi Omole and Bukayo Saka.

The main Arsenal first team is made up of a total of 15 different nationalities:

  1. Argentina (1)
  2. Armenia (1)
  3. Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
  4. Czech Republic (1)
  5. Egypt (1)
  6. England (4)
  7. France (3)
  8. Gabon (1)
  9. Germany (3)
  10. Greece (2)
  11. Nigeria (1)
  12. Spain (2)
  13. Switzerland (2)
  14. Uruguay (1)
  15. Wales (1)