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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