Super Eagles and Bayer Leverkusen forward, Nathan Tella, has reflected on his departure from his boyhood club, Arsenal FC, in 2016, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian attacker began his football career with the 13-time Premier League champions, rising through the Arsenal youth ranks before joining the U-18 team.
However, at the age of 17, Tella was released by the Gunners, marking the end of his time at the club. He subsequently joined Southampton’s U-23 team after a successful trial.
Tella revealed that leaving Arsenal was a source of embarrassment for him, and he struggled with how to break the news to his friends and family.
“For me, it was a bit of an embarrassment because I didn’t know how I was going to tell all my friends and family that I was leaving Arsenal,” Tella said, as quoted by talkSPORT. “It was tough because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Maybe stay at Arsenal, try to force their hand and make another decision, or if I was to go out on trials.”
After discussing with his family and agent, Tella decided to pursue trials with other clubs to step out of his comfort zone.
“I spoke to my family, I spoke to my agent, they said it’s best to go on trials to see what I can do and get out of my comfort zone,” Tella continued. “I had trials at Reading, Norwich, then ultimately Southampton, and it’s good now, I’m really enjoying it.”
During his time at Southampton, Tella was loaned to Burnley, where he played a significant role under the management of Vincent Kompany.
His performances were instrumental in Burnley’s promotion to the English Premier League, although the team has since returned to the EFL Championship.
