Arteta Turns To Nigerian Youngsters To Solve Arsenal Injury Problems

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has added Mazeed Ogungbo, Miguel Azeez and three other youngsters to his first-team squad amid a growing injury crisis at the club, Megasportsarena.com reports.

The Gunners are currently without Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney, with the latter not expected to return before the end of the season due to a knee complaint.

The injuries have come at a terrible time for the Gunners, who’ve lost back-to-back Premier League games to slip to fifth in the race for Champions League football.

Miguel Azeez, Mazeed Ogungbo, Charlie Patino, Lino Sousa and Marcelo Flores have all been invited to train with the first team ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League fixture against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday afternoon.

Ogungbo was on the bench for the recent game against Crystal Palace. He is a 19-year-old centre-back who’s made six professional appearances for the U23s in the EFL Trophy. He’s also represented the Republic of Ireland at U16 and U19 levels – and was on the bench for the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this month.

Azeez is a 19-year-old central midfielder who spent the first half of the season on loan at League One side Portsmouth, featuring 10 times in all competitions. He’s played once for Arsenal’s first team, coming off the bench in a Europa League game in December 2020.