Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr has a message for Arsenal wonderkid Bukayo Saka

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The Nigerian head coach Gernot Rohr has been discussing the nation’s potential ability to call up several England based players and claims that the Super Eagles will not be begging the likes of Arsenal’s breakout star Bukayo Saka. 

Saka has been a revelation for Arsenal this season. The 18-year-old has thrived in Arsenal’s left-back role although Mikel Arteta sees him settling into a more advanced wide role in the future. 

His excellent form has not only been with Arsenal. Saka has been impressive for the England under-19s, with four goals in 10 games at that level. 

Born in Ealing, Saka has Nigerian parents and is therefore eligible to play for the West African powerhouse. 

However, the nation’s German coach has made it clear to ESPN that Saka will need to make the first move, as Nigeria will not come begging for his services. 

He was speaking specifically about Bournemouth’s Danish midfielder Phillip Billing and QPR midfield talent Eberechi Eze, an England under-21 international. However, the same would apply to Saka.

“We never beg anybody. But if they want to come, if they are good players, yes. Some players sometimes want to come but we have already better players in these positions.

 “We hope Eze will come. But you know there is a process to follow.

“If they play already for the youth team in England or other countries, there is a process, write a letter, go to the FIFA commission, and so on.”

In December, Saka spoke to the BBC about his international future and remained non-committal. He certainly sounded open to the idea of one day playing for either Nigeria or England. 

“I am always thinking about it but I haven’t made a decision yet.

“No-one has been in touch but when I make a decision you will find out.”

The likes of Joe Aribo of Rangers, Semi Ajayi of West Brom, Viv Solomon-Otabor of CSKA Sofia, Josh Maja of Bordeaux, and Ola Aina of Torino are all current Nigerian international who were all born in England, specifically London. Meanwhile, Saka’s former Arsenal team-mate Alex Iwobi and Chelsea’s Victor Moses were born in Nigeria but raised in England and both represented their adopted nation at youth level. 

So it is undoubtedly a path well-trodden if Saka did decide to represent Nigeria and he would add to an increasingly powerful-looking squad for the Super Eagles if he did so. 

But with England reportedly keeping tabs on his progress as a potential player for Gareth Southgate’s international set-up, Saka might have to make this decision sooner rather than later.