July 17, (THEWILL) – Back from an injury layoff and raring to go, Nigerian centre-back Leon Balogun found the back of the net for his Scottish Premier League club, Rangers in a pre-season draw against English Premiership side Arsenal at their Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow.
The defender broke the deadlock just as his compatriot Terem Moffi did for Lorient against Brest at the 14th minute to put the Gunners behind and immediately under pressure. A Rangers’ corner was crossed in by James Tavernier and Balogun was fastest to the ball to head past Arthur Okonkwo in Arsenal’s goal.
It was the second goal that Okonkwo was conceding in as many games for Mikel Arteta’s squad and his first two games after signing his senior contract for the first team. Arteta decided to stick with him after he mishandled a back pass that led to a Hibernian in their first pre-season.
Balogun’s bullet header may have been too much for Okonkwo to handle but the goalkeeper’s teammates came to his rescue beginning with a debut goal for Arsenal new boy Nuno Tavares. The right back capitalised on an error from goal provider Tavernier in the 23rd minute to level the scores.
There were no more goals to speak of until a quarter of an hour before the game ended when Rangers inched ahead again but by this time Okonkwo had been replaced by Karl Hein. It came through another header, this time by Glenn Middleton.
To save Arteta’s blushes and keep Arsenal from another loss of the pre-season, forward Eddie Nketiah’s scored eight minutes later and the two sides settled for a 2-2 end.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
