Wrexham face a tense finale to their season as they battle for League One‘s second automatic promotion spot. Birmingham City have already got the title wrapped up with four games left to play, while Phil Parkinson‘s side are currently second, just one point ahead of rivals Wycombe Wanderers.
If the Red Dragons do achieve an incredible third successive promotion then it will be in no small part thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo. The 23-year-old has kept 17 clean sheets so far this term – the joint-most in the third tier alongside Birmingham’s Ryan Allsop – but having played three games less than the Blues’ keeper.
Okonkwo missed around two months of the campaign after suffering a broken wrist in Wrexham’s 1-0 win against Mansfield in November. He signed permanently for the Welsh outfit on a free transfer from Arsenal last summer after impressing on loan as they won promotion from League Two last season.
Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were heavily involved in convincing Okonkwo to make the switch from the Gunners, despite reported interest from clubs higher up the divisions.
Appreciation will also be due to former Chelsea and Arsenal shot-stopper Petr Cech if promotion is achieved for aiding the youngster’s development in north London, as well as the inspiration of ex-Manchester United man David de Gea.
Okonkwo spoke about his influences in an interview featured on the Arsenal website in September 2018. “I enjoy the thrill of making saves – the more spectacular the better,” he said. “I suppose that’s why I like watching David De Gea play more than others.
“He’s an instinctive goalkeeper who makes fantastic reaction saves, although I do watch all goalkeepers to see what I can learn. I’ll watch a game and enjoy the overall play, but I scrutinise what the keepers do in more detail.
“Although there’s no particular keeper I look to learn from I’m lucky to be around someone like Petr Cech, who makes an effort to help me develop.”
He added: “I’ve worked with the first team and I enjoy being in goal for their shooting practice, which helps me improve. I think the player with the hardest shot I’ve faced is Granit Xhaka.”
Wrexham AFC is the arguably the fastest-growing club in the world at the moment thanks to a certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Dragons have achieved two consecutive promotions and are cheered on by crowds from not only North Wales but also from all over the globe, thanks to the success of the Disney+ documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
But does it have a dedicated, quality source of information piped through to your inbox each week, free of ads but packed with informed opinion, analysis and even a little bit of fun each week? That’s where Wrexham is the Game steps in…
Available every Wednesday, it provides all the insights you need to be a top red. And for a limited time, a subscription to ‘Wrexham is the Game’ will cost fans just £15 for the first year.
Sign up for Wrexham is the Game here
Okonkwo’s form for Wrexham was recently recognised with the PFA Fans’ League One Player of the Month Award. The Arsenal academy graduate kept six clean sheets in seven games in March.
Last month, he discussed the challenges he faced when recovering from his wrist injury. “That was the first serious injury I’ve had as a professional,” Okonkwo told the BBC.
“It’s difficult coming back from something like that – you lose consistency and momentum. It’s taken a bit of time and I had to take a step back to go forward again, but I’m feeling good now. I’m happy to be back.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
