Despite a damaging draw with the Pharaohs of Egypt in his competitive debut for the Super Eagles, Arsenal teenage star, Alex Iwobi, has said he does not regret the decision to represent Nigeria over England
The 19-year-old made his Nigeria debut on October 8, 2015, replacing Ahmed Musa in the 57th minute of a 2–0 friendly defeat to DR Congo in Visé, Belgium.
As that match was a friendly the English FA harboured hopes of convincing him to switch allegiances to the Three Lions.
However, there’s no going back for the teenager now after he made his competitive bow in the AFCON qualifier against Egypt in Kaduna on March 25.
Arsene Wenger said in January that the attacker should play for England, but Iwobi made his mind up to represent his country of birth – despite only living there until the age of four before moving to London and representing the Three Lions at U16, U17 and U18 levels.
Iwobi told the Sun: “I understand why some England fans are surprised with my decision.
“It was a difficult one to make, one I thought very carefully about. I have no regrets.
“I have always been part of the England youth set-up and have 11 caps at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 levels.
“But when I was first invited by the Nigeria FA, my dad told me to follow my heart and that is what I have done.”
Iwobi made his senior debut for Arsenal earlier this season and has scored two goals in his last two appearances for the Gunners.
The nephew of Super Eagles legend, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, promised to celebrate with an African dance should he find the back of the net against West Ham on Saturday.
He said: “Scoring my first against Everton was fantastic — it was amazing hearing the Arsenal fans chanting my name. I am planning to do an African dance for my next goal.
“I love African music. I have loads of African songs and I will leave the fans to judge when I perform my first one.”
