Mikel Arteta Promotes Super Eagles Prospect Josh Nichols to First Team Amid Injury Crisis
- Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has named a Nigeria-eligible defender in his UEFA Champions League squad
- Josh Nichols travelled with the squad to Belgium to face Club Brugge amid a defensive injury crisis in Arteta's team
- The Gunners are without most of their centre-backs due to injury after Cristhian Mosquera joined the casualty list
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta named Nigeria-eligible defender Josh Nichols in the travelling squad for the UEFA Champions League match against Club Brugge in Belgium.
Arsenal is faced with an injury crisis in defence, with top stars Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, and Cristhian Mosquera currently out injured.
Source: Getty Images
Piero Hincapie is the only fit centre-back, even though fullbacks Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Ben White can all play in the heart of defence.
Arteta provides Arsenal's injury update
Gabriel Jesus is back in action for Arsenal after an extended period on the sidelines due to ACL injury, but Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera are long-term absentees.
Arteta confirmed during his pre-match conference that Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard did not travel to Bruges due to fitness issues.
“Declan was ill. He was quite sick after the game, and he hasn’t travelled with us. William is still not available, and Leo again picked another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don't expect that it's going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here,” he said as quoted by Arsenal.com.
He added that the injuries are frustrating, but he has been able to deal with them as it is obvious in how Arsenal are top of the Premier League and Champions League tables.
The injuries, particularly in defence, prompted the manager to call up Super Eagles-eligible fullback Josh Nichols, and he travelled with the team.
He was spotted training with the senior team at London Colney before the team flew out to Belgium for the match against Club Brugge on Wednesday evening.
Who is Josh Nichols?
Josh Nichols is a 19-year-old fullback who was born in Newham, England, to a Nigerian mother and a Jamaican/Guyanese father, and thus eligible for multiple countries.
He has not represented England at any youth team, which will make it easy to represent Nigeria if he decides to in the not distant future.
Source: Twitter
As noted by ANS, he came through Arsenal's Hale End academy and made his senior debut in the Carabao Cup in September 2024 against Bolton Wanderers.
He was an unused substitute during the Premier League match against West Ham in November 2024, after which he has not been involved with the team again. He is unlikely to play against Club Brugge despite Arsenal’s injury woes.
Why Ryan Alebiosu chose Nigeria
Legit.ng reported why Ryan Alebiosu chose Nigeria over England after the defender was named in the Super Eagles' preliminary squad for AFCON 2025.
The former Arsenal academy star admitted that he had always been focused on playing for Nigeria, and had a Nigerian flag with him when he joined Blackburn.
Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
