Chelsea and Nigeria legend John Mikel Obi has insisted that Rangers star Joe Aribo isn’t his replacement at for the Super Eagles – despite the Ibrox ace assuming his number 10 jersey.
After quitting the international scene, the former Chelsea star thinks that Alex Iwobi has taken his role in the side and has been impressed with how he has taken to it so far.
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“I like the man who took my number Aribo but many people don’t understand that Alex Iwobi is the player in my role,” Mikel said, as quoted by Brilla.
”Iwobi started playing that role from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and I have been impressed with how he has settled in properly. We all know he is a good player so it’s no surprise that he has done well so far”
Aribo has wowed fans already after only a handful of games for Nigeria and looks set to cement his place in Gernot Rohr’s side for a long time to come.
After a bright start at Ibrox, Aribo has fallen slightly out of favour with Glen Kamara being preferred to him currently in Steven Gerrard’s engine room.
While the Rangers star is still only finding his feet at international level, an endorsement from the likes of Mikel Obi will certainly earn him some extra kudos in Nigeria.