AC Milan winger Samu Chukwueze knew he was destined for the top, even if he was rejected by Arsenal earlier in his career.
That’s according to journalist Blessed Ekene, who details the winger’s failed move to Arsenal, after he starred in the Champions League for Milan this week.
The winger joined the Italian side in the summer but has endured a difficult time so far, with the loss to Borussia Dortmund this week seeing him bag his first goal for them.
He had been the star of the show for former club Villarreal for several years after joining them from Diamond Academy in 2017 in a €500,000 deal.
He went on to make 207 appearances for the club in the intervening years, managing 37 goals and 31 assists in total and plenty of attention from around Europe as a result.
Before his move to Spain, he had been close to joining Arsenal, who had scouted him at the Under 17 World Cup in 2015 and been left impressed by what they saw. That move never happened and he instead ended up in Spain two years later.
After bagging his first goal he’s very much looking forward than back, with Ekene insisting that failed move to Arsenal has not dampened his ambitions in the slightest.
“Playing there (Villarreal) was an important step in his development because it gave him the opportunity to do his job without too much pressure,” he said.
“If you remember, after Nigeria’s triumph at the 2015 Under-17 World Cup he was about to join Arsenal, but the deal didn’t go through.
“In hindsight, it was better this way for him: he faced high-level teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona and showed that he could very well compete in that important top flight.
“I believe that even then he knew that he was destined for the top, because the negative epilogue of the negotiations with Arsenal had no negative repercussions on him, and even if there had been he didn’t have any negative repercussions. he never showed: he remained focused and continued training with the other boys until he moved to Villarreal.”
