Joe Aribo ready to battle for Southampton first team starting XI return

The Nigerian joined Southampton for just over € 7 million after a fine start with Rangers  and the 26-year-old was a starter at the beginning for the Saints, but has fell out of favor when Ralph Hasenhuttl was sacked in November.

However, his game time minutes reduced drastically having played 11 minutes in the Premier League this year and was left out of the squad altogether under Nathan Jones who sacked following a poor three months spell at the club.

He has made 26 appearances for the Saints and scored only two goals. The arrival of new manager Ruben Sellesh had seen Aribo yet to appear in a league tie and has only played in two league games since the beginning of January.

Aribo was dropped from Southampton’s starting lineup and sent to play for the U21 side in Premier League 2.

Despite his struggle at club level, the Nigerian star is optimistic about get back into the manager’s first-team.

“It is the coach’s decision. I think every single coach has his own opinion on things,” Aribo told Elegbete TV Sport.

“For me, I’m not really too fazed because it’s [about] processes. It’s like growing pains. I just need to be patient and just wait on God’s perfect timing.”