Arsenal-owned Nigerian goalkeeper sends message to Crewe fans after leaving for Bundesliga club

The youngster has put up a lot of good displays for Crewe Alexandra in the last six months, but he has moved on

Arsenal product Arthur Okonkwo has sent a heartfelt message to Crewe Alexandra fans after he left the club for Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz.

Okonkwo joined Crewe in January on a six-month loan deal from Arsenal. The 21-year-old goalkeeper impressed at the club, making 23 appearances and keeping nine clean sheet in League Two.

However, his time at Crewe Alexandra has ended, and he has sealed another loan move to Bundesliga club Sturm Graz. He will be at the club till the end of the season.

The Arsenal product shared a video of some of his best saves and wrote

“Wow, what an amazing time I had at Crewe Alexandra,” Okonkwo wrote on Instagram.

“I just want to say a big thank you to all the staff, managers, fans, players for all you did for me in terms of my development over the last six months.

“I will forever be grateful to the part that the club played in my career. You made me feel like one of your own. Good luck for the rest of the season.”

Sturm Graz are one of the top teams in Austria at the moment. They sit second in the league behind RB Salzburg.

Jorg Siebenhandl has been the first-choice goalkeeper at the club for the past five seasons, and he has made 15 appearances for the club in the Bundesliga this season.

Okonkwo would look to challenge the Austrian shotstopper to become the first-choice goalkeeper at the club.

The Arsenal loanee was born in London to Nigerian parents. As such, he is eligible to play for the Super Eagles. He has played for the English youth team, but there are reports that he is open to playing for Nigeria.

If he continues to develop well, he could be the answer to the goalkeeping problem facing Nigeria.