Arsenal are gearing up for the new season with another test game lined up against Barcelona tomorrow as part of their tour of the United States of America, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Players who are not part of the tour are in England as they await the next decision in their career, which will likely be taken by the manager before the close of the summer transfer window.
One of such players is Nigeria U23 invitee Tim Akinola who is back from a loan spell with English National League (5th tier) side Chesterfield FC. The 22 year old is now facing an anxious wait about his future at the Emirates.
Akinola who was invited to the Nigeria U23 team for the U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers but left under a cloud on the eve of the qualifiers game against Tanzania in Ibadan. He has now detailed the chat he had with first team coach Mikel Arteta before his loan move away from Arsenal.
He said: “Arteta has done a good job of bringing people together. I spoke to him more before I went out on loan than now that I’ve been on loan…He’s a very honest manager, he will tell you what you’re good at and what you need to work on.”
“He said to me I’m very, very good in terms of tenacious, off the ball, winning the ball back from people, working hard. Midfield is the most demanding position, he wants me to be more crisp with my passes.”( BallersMindsetPodcast).
Damian Waziri
