Nigeria-eligible goalkeeper Okonkwo commits an embarrassing blunder in his first match for Arsenal

The 19-year-old just gained promotion to the first team after signing a new long-term contract, but he won’t have fond memories of his first day at the office 

Arthur Okonkwo will not want to look back on today after the youngster committed an embarrassing blunder in his first match for Arsenal.

Just days after signing a new long-term contract and becoming the Gunners third-choice goalkeeper, Okonkwo made his first-team debut in Arsenal’s pre-season clash against Hibernian.

However, it was a debut to forget for the youngster as he was at fault for Hibernian’s opener. The 19-year-old failed to deal with a back pass as he missed his kick, allowing Martin Boyle to tap into an empty net.

Okonkwo will not want to watch the replay, but he will hope to learn from it. Before today, the highly-rated youngster had not featured Arsenal’s first team, although he was in the matchday squad for some games last season.

However, having shown his qualities in the u-18 and u-23 teams in the last two seasons, the Gunners tied him down to a new contract and promoted him as the first-team third-choice goalkeeper.

The 19-year-old was born in England and has represented the Three Lions at the youth level. However, he’s still eligible to play for Nigeria through his Nigerian parents.