Arsenal announce departure of Okwonkwo, Ejeheri, 20 other players

Arsenal have announced the departure of 22 players ahead of the official Premier League announcement of all men’s players who will be out of contract at their current clubs on June 30.

Two Nigerian-born players Ovie Ejeheri and Arthur Okonkwo are among the players whose contracts are not being renewed.

Okonkwo came through the Arsenal ranks quickly, starring on the bench for an under-18 Arsenal match, while being registered as a player for the under-15 team.

He also debuted for the under-23 Arsenal side as a 17-year-old and by the 2018–19 season, Okonkwo came runners-up in the U18 Premier League and was already appearing as a bench goalkeeper for the first team, and going into the 2019–20 campaign, he would be 3rd in line for goalkeeping duties.

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On the other hand, Ejeheri joined Arsenal at the age of eight and on August 2021, he signed his first professional contract with the club.

In a statement on the club’s website, Arsenal said, “We are taking this opportunity to thank those players leaving us at the end of the month.

“We are saying goodbye to the following men’s players and scholars, and have also included the three women’s players we have previously announced will also be departing.”

The other 20 players are Mauro Bandeira, Omari Benjamin, Luis Brown, Catalin Cirjan, Noah Cooper, Sabrina D’Angelo, Henry Davies, Mohamed Elneny and Taylor Foran.

Hubert Graczyk, James Hillson, Henry Jeffcott, Tyreece John-Jules, Alex Kirk, James Lannin-Sweet, Kaylan Marckese, Vivianne Miedema, Kamarni Ryan, Cedric Soares and Kido Taylor-Hart complete the list.

Though Amario Cozier-Duberry, Karl Hein and Reuell Walters’ deals will expire on June 30, the club said discussions were ongoing, promising to inform the public once matters are finalised between all parties.

“We thank all the players leaving us for their contributions to the club. You will always be part of the Arsenal family and we wish you all the best of health and happiness in your future,” the club said.