Chidozie Obi-Martin (born 29 November 2007), known as Chido Obi, is a Danish footballer currently playing as a forward for Premier League Club Arsenal.

Chido Obi
Personal information
Full name Chidozie Obi-Martin[1]
Date of birth (2007-11-29) 29 November 2007 (age 16)
Place of birth Glostrup, Denmark[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
KB
2022– Arsenal
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Denmark U16 8 (4)
2022-2023 England U16 2 (0)
2023– Denmark U17 14 (10)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:44, 27 April 2024 (UTC)

Early life edit

Obi was born in Glostrup, a town located within Copenhagen in Denmark, to a Danish mother and Igbo Nigerian father.[2] He briefly attended St Bonaventure's School in Forest Gate.

Club career edit

Having started his career in Denmark with local side Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, Obi moved to England as a child, going on to join the academy of Arsenal at the age of fourteen.[3][4] He progressed through the club's youth ranks, establishing himself as a prolific goal-scorer, and was promoted to the under-18 side at the age of fifteen. In his first start for the under-18 side, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Southampton on 23 September 2023, earning comparisons to Nigerian international striker Victor Osimhen in Danish media.[5]

The following month he made his first appearance for the club's under-21 side, while still fifteen.[6] He continued his meteoric rise at Arsenal in early November 2023, being called up by first-team manager Mikel Arteta to join the senior side for training.[7] Obi made international headlines on 18 November 2023, scoring ten goals as Arsenal beat Liverpool 14–3 at under-16 level.[8][9][10] On 27 April 2024, Obi made headlines once again, scoring seven goals for Arsenal in their 9–0 win against Norwich City, taking his tally up to 24 goals in his previous seven games for Arsenal's under-18's.[11]

International career edit

Eligible to represent Denmark, England and Nigeria at international level, Obi made five appearances in late 2022 for Denmark's under-16 side, before switching allegiance to England and representing them twice at under-16 level in February 2023.[1][2] However, in April of the same year he returned to the Danish under-16 team, scoring twice in three appearances.[1][4] His prolific goal-scoring form earned him a call-up to the Danish under-17 side, and he started Denmark's 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification campaign with two goals in his first three games.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d https://www.instagram.com/chidoobi.martin/
  2. ^ a b Kraglund, Christian (18 February 2023). "England hapser 15-årig dansk angriber for næsen af DBU" [England grabs 15-year-old Danish striker from DBU]. sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  3. ^ Stoltze, Maya (17 April 2022). "Britiske storklubber jagtede Danske Chido" [Big British clubs chased Danish Chido] (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 19 November 2023 – via PressReader.
  4. ^ a b Jensen, Kenneth (23 March 2023). "Var med engelsk U-landshold: Nu vælger han Danmark" [Was with the English U-national team: Now he chooses Denmark]. tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  5. ^ Fuhr Nielsen, Mikkel (23 September 2023). "Purung dansker går målamok i stor Arsenal-sejr" [Young Dane goes on a scoring spree in big Arsenal win]. tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  6. ^ Bendix Søgaard, Malthe (30 October 2023). "15-årig Arsenal-dansker fik debut for storklubbens U21-hold" [15-year-old Arsenal Dane made his debut for the big club's U21 team]. campo.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Arsenal call up 15-year-old wonderkid to first-team training". metro.co.uk. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  8. ^ Stafford-Bloor, Sebastian (19 November 2023). "Chido Obi-Martin: Arsenal's 15-year-old who scored 10 against Liverpool Under-16s". theathletic.com. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Chido Obi-Martin: Arsenal youth player scores 10 goals for U16 side in 14-3 thrashing of Liverpool". skysports.com. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  10. ^ Doyle, Joe (19 November 2023). "Who is Chido Obi-Martin? The Arsenal wonderkid who scored 10 goals against Liverpool". football.london. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Arsenal teen sensation Chido Obi Martin, 16, scores seven to continue stunning form". skysports.com. 27 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  12. ^ Arvad Christensen, Rasmus (19 October 2023). "Fremtidig landsholdsstjerne? Stort dansk Arsenal-talent med to nye scoringer" [Future national team star? Great Danish Arsenal talent with two new scores]. indkast.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 November 2023.

External links edit