Former Arsenal captain William Gallas has claimed that manager Mikel Arteta does not have the personality to manage Victor Osimhen.


Gallas made this remark while urging Arsenal to sign the Nigerian striker in the summer transfer window.

Osimhen is currently playing for Galatasaray on loan from Napoli.


The 26-year-old has been linked with a move to both Arsenal and Chelsea this summer.

However, Gallas believes the Gunners need Osimhen, as he feels the Napoli loanee could play alongside Kai Havertz in Arteta’s squad.

“Osimhen would be the man I would try to sign,” Gallas told Prime Casino.


“He has been performing well for Galatasaray, obviously on loan from Napoli, and he is only going to be there for a season.

“He is a good player. Maybe not the player, but perhaps he could score 20 goals a season.

“He draws defenders’ attention, so he could play alongside Kai Havertz or another striker. He would have a bit more freedom, which would allow him to score goals for the club. That is why a striker like him would be a good fit for Arsenal.”


He added, “Maybe Mikel Arteta doesn’t have the personality to manage players like Osimhen or to deal with players who have strong personalities.

Kylian Mbappe’s brace helped Real Madrid climb top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Villarreal on Saturday despite coach Carlo Ancelotti’s complaints that his team was “exhausted”.

Los Blancos moved three points clear of rivals Barcelona, having played two extra games, with the Catalans visiting third place Atletico Madrid on Sunday in a key clash in the Spanish title race.

Madrid were unhappy the game was taking place fewer than 72 hours after their Champions League win on penalties against Atletico on Wednesday.

“The team has something special, character, commitment,” Ancelotti told reporters, insisting Madrid would refuse to play without “72 hours of rest” between matches as recommended by world football governing body FIFA.

However despite their complaints they had enough in the tank to beat their opponents, fifth, at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

“We kept going on a physical level, above all in the second half, the team ended up exhausted, but that was to be expected,” said Ancelotti.

“It’s a win that says a lot about this team and the ability this squad has.”

Ancelotti began with Vinicius Junior on the bench after the draining victory against Atletico in the last 16.

Villarreal started strongly and Thibaut Courtois got down well to his right to tip Ayoze Perez’s shot around the post.

From the resulting corner, Villarreal took the lead, with the ball rebounding to Juan Foyth, who smashed home from close range.

Ancelotti’s side hit back quickly, with Mbappe levelling after 17 minutes.

Brahim Diaz’s attempted lob was saved by Diego Conde, but the French striker dispatched the rebound with minimal fuss.

Soon Mbappe had his second, helping to spread the ball to the right and then finishing with aplomb after Lucas Vazquez found him in the middle of the box.

It was Mbappe’s 20th league goal of the season, putting him one behind the top scorer, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.

Content with their lead Madrid soaked up Villarreal pressure in the rest of the first half, with Courtois saving well from Nicolas Pepe.

Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral sent on Thierno Barry for Pepe at the break, as the Yellow Submarine looked to avoid a first home defeat in La Liga by Madrid since 2017.

Foyth might have levelled early in the second half but volleyed over the bar when well placed.

Nigeria took a giant step to qualification for the 2025 U-17 Women’s World Cup on Saturday, beating South Africa 2-0 at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, Ogun State.

The Flamingos had last week defeated the Bantwana 3-1 in the first leg of the clash, meaning they soared to the next phase of the qualification race with a whooping 5-1 aggregate victory.

Harmony Chidi and Aishat Animashaun help Flamingos cook Bantwana in Ikenne

On to the next round ⚙️#U17WWCQ #SoarFlamingos #Morocco2025 #NGARSA @thenff pic.twitter.com/cdyoYFrlg1

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) March 15, 2025

The game produced no goal after the early exchanges. But two-goal heroine in the first leg, Harmony Chidi coolly nodded home from an acute angle in the 37th minute on Saturday, to compound the fixture for the visitors.

Shakirat Moshood, who scored a goal in the first leg, was the provider from a well-taken free kick on the right. She turned provider again 11 minutes into the second half when she found Aishat Animashaun, who lifted the ball over and above Samekelise Mthembu into the net for Nigeria’s second.

The Flamingos were drawn bye into the second round of the World Cup qualification battle owing to their impressive outing at the last edition of the tournament in which they ended third.

Nigeria will square off against the winner between Botswana and Algeria in the final round of qualification.

Four countries from the final round of qualifiers will team up with the host nation Morocco as Africa’s flagbearers at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The competition is billed to take place from 17 October to 5 November 2025.