Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina have promised to bombard Dele Alli with banter, hoping that it will help the Super Eagles beat England in their friendly international on Saturday.
Alli (whose full first name is Bamidele) was eligible to represent the African nation through his Nigerian father, but chose to throw his lot in with England where he was born and has lived all his life.
Meanwhile, Lagos-born Iwobi and London-born Aina chose Nigeria for senior international football but they played alongside Alli for England’s youth teams and it’s this familiarity they’re looking to tap into to put the Tottenham Hotspur star off his game at Wembley.
“Even though Arsenal and Tottenham have this rivalry, he is a good friend and I know he is a good person but if we do have one against them I will let him know for sure,” Iwobi told KweséESPN.
Aina agrees, and says although the banter will be friendly, Alli will still get an earful.
“Me and Dele we speak here and then so if I do get a chance to give him a little nudge and say something I might do because I know he will take it lightly anyway.”
Saturday’s friendly kicks off at 18:00 (CAT), and on top of its high-profile nature Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has suggested that he will pick his likely World Cup starting team to play against Gareth Southgate’s England.
England-based Victor Moses, Iwobi and Aina are all in contention to start while Odion Ighalo, John Mikel Obi and Ahmed Musa are also expected to play some part at the 82 000-capacity arena which Alli usually lords over in Tottenham Hotspur colours.