As the summer of international football festivities came to a close, European clubs like Arsenal FC have commenced their pre-season. Many of the senior players participated in international competitions (such as Copa America, UEFA Nations League, and African Cup of Nations) giving youth players an opportunity to play in several pre-season matches.
Bukayo Saka, James Olayinka, and Eddie Nketiah have all featured and scored and/or assisted in at least one pre-season game, with Nketiah being the star player so far with three goals and an assist. All born in England, they have been doing very well and could certainly be prominent players for Arsenal in a few years. But to increase their stock, they should seriously consider playing for their country of origin rather than their birthplace.
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Saka and Olayinka are Nigerian descent and Nketiah is Ghanaian descent. They can all seek inspiration from ex-youth academy products deciding to represent their country of origin on the international stage. Former Arsenal youth player Ismaël Bennacer, born in France, plays for the Algerian National Team and was awarded the best player of
AFCON. Although born in Nigeria, Alex Iwobi played for England U-16, U-17, and U-18 youth teams but made the transition to the Super Eagles in 2015. Since then, he’s scored the goal that sent Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup and scored the winning goal against Cameroon to reach the AFCON Quarterfinals.
African teams could benefit from players developed in Europe. The new format of the AFCON being in the summer (as opposed to January-February) wouldn’t jeopardize these players’ club careers. Saka, Olayinka, and Nketiah should seriously consider playing for the Super Eagles or the Black Stars. They would be happy to have them.
Eddie Mungai 
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