Nathan Tella was part of the Arsenal academy but was released at the age of 17
It has been quite the season for Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern Munich have dominated the Bundesliga for the past 11 seasons, but not this year.CONTINUE READING>>>>>
Leverkusen have gone unbeaten so far in this campaign under the former Liverpool player and have won the Bundesliga title with five games to spare. And they have done it with a mixture of unsung stars and young talents.
One of those is Nathan Tella. You may remember him from a three-year spell at Southampton and loan to Burnley. He made the move to Leverkusen in the summer and has won the title in his first year in Germany.
But you may not know he actually started out in the Arsenal academy. And he was released in 2017, with the Gunners instead giving contracts to “elite” players Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson, with a fear of too many players overcrowding the system.
The rejection hurt Tella, who took time to pick himself up, but as time has gone on, he’s flourished. And Arsenal may well be regretting the decision to let him go now.
Tella has made 34 appearances in all competitions for Bayer this season, scoring seven goals and providing four assists. He actually has a goal involvement every 131 minutes, with a lot of his appearances coming off the bench.
In an exclusive interview with Vavel, Tella opened up on the rejection he faced at Arsenal. “I couldn’t believe it, Arsenal was all I knew from the age of six when I got scouted,” he said.
“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. 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 they said it’s best to go trials to see what I can do and get out of my comfort zone.”
Southampton, Burnley and now Leverkusen followed and he admitted it was a “special moment” to pick up a title in his first season in Germany. Speaking to the Daily Post he said: “It’s obviously very special. I’ve always said trophies aren’t guaranteed.
“The fact that I’ve had an opportunity to come to this club in my first season with an incredibly talented group of players, unbelievable coaching staff, and win something first time of asking is special. It’s an important moment for the history of the club.“CONTINUE READING>>>>>
