Who is Samuel Chukwueze? Villarreal's 'Nigerian Robben' wanted by Arsenal

Stuart Telford

• 4 Nov 2022 12:01 GMT
• 4 min read

Samuel Chukwueze helped Villarreal into their first-ever Champions League semi-final with a winning goal against Bayern Munich last season, but what else is there to know?

Chukwueze is the latest player off the Villarreal production line, a young Nigerian winger who - like former Bayern man Arjen Robben - lines up on the right despite being left-footed.

It's a position from which he can wreak havoc, as the German champions discovered at the business end of last season's Champions League.

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Chukwueze joined the Yellow Submarine from the Diamond Football Academy in his native Nigeria in 2017, and after breaking into their first-team set-up has now racked up 175 appearances in all competitions.

Arsenal are just one of a number of Premier League clubs keeping tabs on his progress.

What position does Chukwueze play in?

Chukwueze is primarily a winger who was lining up on the right-hand side of Unai Emery's 4-4-2 at Villarreal before the coach left to replace Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa. His is also capable of playing on the opposite flank, though.

How good is Chukwueze?

Chukwueze is a handful for opposition defenders to contend with, utterly direct, and using his speed and skill to rack up 27 goals and 24 assists in those aforementioned appearances for Villarreal.

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Sometimes used off the bench, he has had a goal-involvement around once every two games on average over the last four seasons - a fine return for a club not always reaching the upper echelons of domestic or continental football.

What clubs are interested in Chukwueze?

Arsenal have a long-standing interest in Chukqueze, and he reportedly underwent a medical there aged 16 when Arsene Wenger was still at the helm.

More recently, Everton have been linked with a move for the wide man, while Emery could be tempted to bring him to Villa.

When does Chukwueze's contract expire?

Chukwueze's contract at the Ciutat de Valencia runs until 30 June 2024.

How old is Chukwueze?

Born on 22 May 1999, Chukwueze is 23 at the time of writing.

He shares a birthdate with former Nigeria winger Garba Lawal… and a certain George Best.

What is Chukwueze's Instagram?

Samuelk Chukwueze's Instagram has 293K followers as of November 2022.