Oboabona
Former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu has backed the decision by Godfrey Oboabona to refuse to undergo a trial with Arsenal before signing him. Chukwu believes the Eagles defender would have failed the test.
Oboabona on Sunday fired a broadside at the Premier League giants, accusing the Gunners of disrespecting Nigerian clubs, after he was offered a trial at the club.
“Arsenal’s management told me to come for a trial when I won the Africa Cup of Nations,” The Sun quoted the 22-year-old centre-back as saying.
“I think I should be above such requests. It is high time some of these clubs started respecting Nigeria.”
Sunshine Stars General Manager Mike Idoko stoked the fire on Wednesday when he accused Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger of attempting to undervalue the player.
Speaking to our correspondent on the telephone during the week, Chukwu said Oboabona would have been rejected by Arsenal because big European clubs don’t believe in African defenders.
The former Nigeria captain and coach said the situation would be different if the London outfit had offered the player a contract.
“Oboabona is a good defender and I’m surprised that Arsenal invited him for a trial before joining them,” the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner said.
“I don’t think he needs any trial to sign for a big club because everybody knows he’s a quality defender.
“He made the right decision (to reject Arsenal’s offer) because he wouldn’t have succeeded in the trial.
“The majority of the top European clubs focus their attention on signing midfielders and strikers outside Europe because they are the players who win matches.
“They have good defenders and only sign outsiders if they are exceptional.”
The former Enugu Rangers captain said Oboabona must resist being rushed into signing for “just any club”.
“He’s a good player and I believe one of the big European clubs will sign him but he must continue his development in the domestic league before moving abroad,” Chukwu said.
The ex-Kenya coach said Nigerian players must work harder to attract the interest of the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Barcelona.
He said, “They still have a long way to go. Mikel Obi and Victor Moses are playing for Chelsea because they are quality players. Emmanuel Emenike can attract interest from a top European club if he works harder.
“The problem of our players is that they are not consistent. Top European clubs only go for players who deliver consistent performances. But sadly, our players allow little success to go to their heads.”
He urged the country to focus on developing football at the grass-roots level, saying it would help Nigerian players develop like their European and South America counterparts.
“Our players don’t develop fast and that’s why we mustn’t use overage players at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels,” Chukwu added.
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