Nigerian winger Nathan Tella recently spoke about his disappointing departure from Arsenal, where he spent a decade before being released in 2017 after failing to progress through their youth system.
The 24-year-old’s football journey hasn’t been smooth. After leaving Arsenal, Tella faced rejections from Reading and Norwich City before eventually finding an opportunity at Southampton.
Nathan Tella played a successful season on loan at Burnley before being sold to Bayer Leverkusen, the newly crowned Bundesliga champions, last summer.
Though he’s not yet a regular starter at Leverkusen’s BayArena, Tella played a vital role in the team’s Bundesliga triumph. The club is also in the final of the DFB Pokal and the semi-final of the UEFA Europa League.
“I couldn’t believe it, Arsenal was all I knew from the age of six when I got scouted,” he told VAVEL.
“It was tough because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Maybe stay at Arsenal, try force their hand and make another decision, or if I was to go out on trials.
“I spoke to my family, I spoke to my agent and they said it’s best to go on trials to see what I can do and get out of my comfort zone.”
