EXCLUSIVE: Super Eagles Face The Gunners in August!

By Obi Martins Okafor The fixture Nigeria Vs Arsenal is not something we football audience are accustomed with. Arsenal FC and the Nigerian football Federation have concluded plans to play a friendly match on the 5th of August 2012 in Abuja. It will be the first time Arsenal has played in the West African nation. “We are delighted to announce that Arsenal Football Club will face the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Abuja,” said promoter David Omigie of DanJan Sports. DanJan Sports say that agreement has been finalized with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and they should in turn provide a strong Super Eagles team for the match. “The NFF have agreed that the country will present a strong side as Coach Stephen Keshi continues his development process… The Arsenal manager [Arsene Wenger] will also use this game to showcase his full squad for the 2012/2013 football season.” said Omigie. The London club traditionally hosts an annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium, but they opted to postpone the event for a year because of the 2012 London Olympics. The visit to Nigeria will conclude Arsenal’s pre-season after tours to both China and Malaysia in July. Arsenal had previously had a Nigerian player and Olympic gold medalist, Nwankwo Kanu in their team during which they won a couple of domestic titles and trophies. As NFF gears up to present a formidable side to battle one of the best football clubs in Europe, it should serve as a means of challenging our super Eagles to emulate the exciting and fluent style of the Wenger trained players in future games.