Arsenal academy product and Gunners fan Nathan Tella made his debut for Nigeria at the weekend, picking the Super Eagles over England.
Former Arsenal academy youngster Nathan Tella, now of Bayer Leverkusen, made his senior international debut for Nigeria over the weekend.
Tella started Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe, playing the opening 45 minutes for the side as they drew 1-1.
The winger has chosen to play for Nigeria over England, the country of his birth, and he wrote on Instagram to celebrate his debut after the game.
“Good experience away,” Tella said. “Happy to make my debut for the Nigeria Super Eagles.”
Tella is a self-confessed Arsenal fan, despite leaving the club in 2017. He joined the Arsenal academy at the age of six, but was later released.
The youngster had to go out on trials with various clubs including Reading and Norwich City, before eventually earning a contract at Southampton.
Six years later, Tella has really turned things around. He joined Leverkusen for £20m over the summer, earning a five-year deal, and he’s now made his international debut.
Tella has a couple of goals in his 11 appearances (five starts) for Leverkusen since signing, despite only playing 399 minutes across those appearances.
The 24-year-old had spent the last season on loan with Burnley in the Championship, scoring 19 goals in all competitions as the side achieved promotion back to the Premier League.
With parent club Southampton getting relegated, Tella ended up back in the Championship at the start of the current campaign, scoring once and assisting once in the opening three games.
But the winger didn’t have to wait long to make the top-flight upgrade he arguably earned last season, with Bayer Leverkusen offering him the chance to play in the Bundesliga.
Tella has talked in the past about his release by Arsenal, and how it left him feeling embarrassed.
“I couldn’t believe it, Arsenal was all I knew from the age of 6 when I got scouted,” Tella said.
“For me, it was a bit of an embarrassment because I didn’t know how I was going to tell all my friends and family that I was leaving Arsenal.
“It was tough because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Maybe stay at Arsenal, try to force their hand and make another decision, or if I was to go out on trials.”
“I spoke to my family, I spoke to my agent they said it’s best to go trials to see what I can do and get out of my comfort zone.
“I had trials at Reading, Norwich, then ultimately Southampton and it’s good now, I’m really enjoying it.”
The winger continues to go from strength to strength, and he’ll hope for more call-ups from Nigeria in the future.