While Arsenal’s first team makes headlines weekly, there’s a new name quietly rising through the academy ranks with a blend of flair, hunger, and Nigerian pride — Andre Harriman‑Annous.
The 17-year-old forward featured this week for Arsenal’s U-19s in their narrow 2-1 UEFA Youth League loss to Olympiakos, and although the result didn’t go the Gunners’ way, Annous showed flashes of the goal-scoring instincts that made him one of Hale End’s most exciting prospects.
Last season, Annous scored 18 goals across six different competitions for Arsenal’s youth sides; a feat that has scouts and fans alike buzzing. But it’s not just his talent that’s turning heads. Andre Annous is eligible to represent Nigeria or England at international level and the call from Africa could come sooner than expected.
With the Super Eagles on a mission to rebuild with young, dynamic talent from the diaspora, Annous fits the profile perfectly. And his Nigerian heritage runs deep with family roots that not only tie him to West Africa, but also to elite-level sport.
His cousin is none other than Maro Itoje, the England rugby captain and a lifelong Arsenal fan, while his brother Brandon Annous plays for Braintree Town in the National League. Talent clearly runs in the family.
“I’m just focused on improving every game,” Annous recently told Arsenal Media. “I’ve got people around me who know what it takes to make it, so I’m lucky in that sense.”
For Nigeria, his emergence adds to a growing list of UK-born talents eligible to wear the green and white and if he continues his current trajectory, the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation) will surely be watching closely.
A call-up to Nigeria’s U-20 squad or Olympic team could be the perfect introduction to international football for a player whose style echoes the clinical instincts of Victor Osimhen with the intelligence of a classic Arsenal forward.
Hot Sports Scoops will be tracking Andre Annous closely as he continues his rise and as Nigeria continues its global talent search, don’t be surprised if this young Gunner soon gets his shot to shine in green.
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