MusaNottingham Forest hope to make Ola Aina available for a trip to Arsenal after he returned early from international duty with Nigeria last week.
Aina has been in excellent form this season and is almost an ever-present in Nuno Espirito Santo’s starting eleven, which is fifth in the table.
The right-sided defender played the full 90 minutes in the 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest before the international break and played 83 minutes for Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin last Thursday.
The former Chelsea youth international was substituted late on and was then treated for a problem he suffered in the match.With the 1-1 draw against Benin, Nigeria secured qualification for next year’s African Cup of Nations with one game to spare.
Forest communicated directly with the Nigeria Football Federation and agreed that Aina would miss Monday’s match against Rwanda, but he returned to the UK at the end of last week and received treatment at Forest.
‘Relationships are something that is key,’ Nigeria’s interim coach Austin Eguavoen said in an interview with All Nigeria Soccer.I spoke to a Nottingham Forest official before the Benin game and then I got a message from the Nuno manager asking if we could release Ola Aina because they have a game against Arsenal next weekend.I agreed and said that if we can get a positive result in Ivory Coast, we will maintain a good relationship.
We have alternative players at our disposal, so in that light it was important to maintain the relationship.’
An official statement from the Nigeria Football Federation added: “English Premier League side Nottingham Forest have made an impassioned plea for wing-back Olaoluwa Aini to be allowed to return to the United Kingdom for a crucial match as he has already secured a place at the AFCON.
Aina will be assessed this week and reports in Nigeria suggest that fatigue may have been the reason for his substitution last week.Forest travel to north London to take on Arsenal on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
Musa
