Kelechi Nwakali is joining Arsenal this summer, and has been given the squad number previously held by Carl Jenkinson.
The new Nigerian signing played a key role in helping his his Under-17 international side to win the World Cup, and was nominated the most valuable player of the tournament, previously won by Kelechi Nwakali, Toni Kross and former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.
The Arsenal and England right back Carl Jenkinson may not have been playing for the Gunners this season. In fact he has spent the last 18 months across London with our Premier League rivals West Ham. But he has been with Arsenal since the summer of 2011 and so has spent a lot of time under the coaching and training methods of Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal back room staff.
There have been many Arsenal transfer rumours this month saying that Matthieu Debuchy is set to leave the club, with the player making it quite clear that he is desperate to get some first team football to try and regain his place in the France national team ahead of this summers Euro2016 in Paris.
This is a tricky subject as poor Mathieu Debuchy was unluckily injured soon after joining Arsenal and made only 11 starts for the Gunners last season, and he could only watch from the sidelines as Hector Bellerin stepped up and made the position his own.
Remember a few weeks ago, Arsenal fans, when the new manager of West Ham issued us with a stark warning that we would find his team an impossible nut to crack when they turned up at the Emirates stadium next Sunday for our opening game of the new Premier League season?
As the Arsenal team gears up to the pre-season with most of the players reporting to training, the activity on transfer rumour mill is showing no decline. Though these reports can’t be taken on face value, they can’t be shoved off easily too.
The three lions may have suffered another disappointing flop in a major tournament this summer, but that should not take away any of the credit earned by the young Arsenal right back Carl Jenkinson. The 23-year old was just about the only one of Gareth Southgate’s England under 21 squad that came away from the Euro tournament with the ability to hold his head high and according to a Daily Mail report, he is now set to sign a new Arsenal contract.
It remains to be seen which of the Arsenal players will be the regular first team starter in the role of right back next season, with Arsene Wenger having no shortage of options. Mathieu Debuchy was the player that we expected to fill the boots of Bacary Sagna and he still might but last season was ruined for the Frenchman by a couple of injuries.