Sports
Iwobi eyes Olympics glory, to miss Arsenal early season
Newly capped Super Eagles striker, Alex Iwobi, has expressed his desire to represent Nigeria at the forthcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 19-year-old, who dumped England for Nigeria when he featured for the Super Eagles against Egypt at the Afcon qualifiers, has now turned his attention to appearing in Rio.
“I am looking forward to the forthcoming Olympics and if I am invited, I will do my best to make a meaningful contribution,” he told Goal.
“I believe that Nigeria has a crop of excellent players who are capable of doing great things at the Olympics. Coach Samson Siasia deserves a lot of praise for securing a place for the nation at the Olympics.
“I do not have any regrets whatsoever in opting to play for Nigeria and will always do my best whenever I put on the green white green colours of Nigeria. I hope to be involved in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers too.
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The youngster who scored at the weekend during Arsenal’s 4-0 demolition of Watford was thrilled by the reception he got in Nigeria.
“I am very grateful to my team mates, the Nigeria Football Federation, coaches, the press and fans for the warm welcome I received following my decision to come home.
“Nigeria is a great footballing nation and deserves to assume her rightful place in Africa and world football and I am keen to be part of a team that achieves this goal,” Iwobi concluded.
Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi could miss a large part of the start of the Premier League season if called up to the Nigeria squad for this summer’s Olympic Games.
The Rio Football tournament is set to begin on August 3, with Arsenal’s league campaign kicking off ten days later. Were Iwobi’s Nigeria to reach the final of the tournament the 19-year-old would be needed in Brazil until August 20.
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