Frank Onyeka: Why Brentford midfielder’s Arsenal debut is must-see

Despite being relatively unknown before joining Brentford, Frank Onyeka grew into one of the top midfield men in Denmark after several years with Midtjylland. 

The versatile midfielder isn’t popular with supporters of the Eagles either, having featured for 45 minutes in a friendly defeat by Algeria in early October last year. That maiden Nigerian bow was short-lived, and supporters couldn’t truly capture what he offers at his best. 

There’s an expectation to ease the midfielder into the fold at Brentford Community Stadium, as he slowly adapts to life in the Premier League. 

Having said that, what should be expected heading into the midfielder’s league bow against the English giants? 

The ex-Midtjylland tends to harry the man in possession, a facet of his game that was evident in the Danish side’s Champions League campaign last season.

Onyeka’s 124 pressures attempted was significantly higher than Sory Kaba in second place (70 pressures), and his pressures per 90 equally outdid any of his teammates.

Given Frank’s team are unlikely to hold onto possession as easily as they did in the Championship last season, the Nigerian’s asset would definitely help. 

While Wilfred Ndidi has made both metrics his forte in recent seasons in the Premier League, Onyeka equally — or, to a lesser extent — could be the ‘new Ndidi’.

In last term’s Champions League campaign, the West African’s 4.11 tackles per 90 and 2.68 tackles won per 90 ranked higher than every player on the Danish side.

Despite exiting in the group stage, the midfielder sat joint-11th for tackles plus interceptions with 35. Jorginho, who played significant minutes of Chelsea’s CL triumph had 46 tackles plus interceptions in total.

Interestingly, Onyeka rises to fourth for per 90 stats, sitting behind Liverpool’s Fabinho, Ramy Bensebaini and Cristian Romero. 

Probably his biggest asset, the Bees ought to be beneficiaries of Onyeka’s adeptness in playing almost every role in midfield.

He’s capable of playing as a lone defensive midfielder, in a pairing or as one of the free-8’s in a midfield three. The Nigerian has even been utilised as the most advanced in midfield at times, with two defensive-minded players playing behind him.

This versatility isn’t surprising owing to how the 23-year-old adjusted to playing in the middle of the park, having begun his career as a forward, notably partnering Paul Onuachu in the Danish outfit’s attack at times before the towering striker departed for Genk. 

Indeed, Onyeka’s strengths could be on show against Arsenal on Friday night. He’s already netted his first goal for the club in their comeback 2-1 win over Valencia. Even though the West African wasn’t known for his goalscoring in Denmark, it remains to be seen if there’d be a spike in his return. 

Brentford supporters are excited about the Nigerian’s arrival and may be eager to watch him against Mikel Arteta’s men. However, if Thomas Frank opts to ease the ex-Midtjylland player into English football, then the young midfielder’s assets will be revealed gradually as the season progresses.

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Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.

Follow him on Twitter @theReal_SeyE

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