{"id":902890,"date":"2026-05-02T04:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/arsenal-legend-names-okocha-as-most-underrated-player-in-epl-history\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T04:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T09:18:16","slug":"arsenal-legend-names-okocha-as-most-underrated-player-in-epl-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/arsenal-legend-names-okocha-as-most-underrated-player-in-epl-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal legend names Okocha as most underrated player in EPL history"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Jay Jay Okocha celebrating during action for Eintracht Frankfurt [Photo credit\/IMAGO]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former Super Eagles\u00a0and Bolton Wanderers star\u00a0Austin\u00a0Okocha enjoyed a glittering playing career built on flair and pure entertainment in his days,\u00a0Soccernet.ng<\/u><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 1996 Olympic gold medallist is widely regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time\u00a0and\u00a0featured for several top European clubs\u00a0during his career, representing the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbah\u00e7e and Paris Saint-Germain during the early stages of his\u00a0career.<\/p>\n

In 2002, the former Super Eagles captain made the move to the English Premier League, joining Bolton Wanderers after\u00a0his contract had expired at\u00a0PSG.\u00a0He reached an entirely different level at the Trotters and immediately became a fan favourite with his performances and impact on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria and Bolton Wanderers great Austin Okocha. Photo by IMAGO <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The former Nigerian star is\u00a0considered by many as the greatest player in Bolton\u2019s history, despite falling short of winning any major\u00a0silverware, with\u00a0his closest attempt\u00a0coming\u00a0in the 2003\u201304 League Cup final, where Bolton finished runners-up to Middlesbrough.<\/p>\n

In his debut season, Okocha played a key role in helping Bolton avoid relegation from the Premier League. He was also instrumental in their highest-ever top-flight finish, as the club secured sixth place in the 2004\u201305 season.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Arsenal legend Ian Wright. [Photo credit\/Imago]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okocha spent four years at Bolton and cemented his status as one of the best players in the history of the club.\u00a0While his\u00a0numbers\u00a0did not always reflect his influence,\u00a0he re<\/u>mains one of the most naturally gifted\u00a0<\/u>players<\/u><\/a>\u00a0in the history of the Premier League with his flair and playmaking skills.<\/p>\n

Speaking on\u00a0The Overlap<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0Arsenal legend\u00a0Ian Wright joined the debate on the most underrated player in Premier League history and picked Okocha as his choice, saying the Nigerian\u00a0great\u00a0deserved much recognition for his performances at Bolton.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJay-Jay Okocha,\u201d\u00a0Wright said when asked who he believes is the most underrated player in EPL history.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cHe should have got much more love. Bolton!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria and Bolton Wanderers great Austin Okocha. Photo by IMAGO <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okocha eventually left Bolton in 2006, first\u00a0moving\u00a0to Qatar SC in the Middle East. He later returned to England to join Hull City in the Championship, where he spent a brief spell before retiring from professional football.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Ayomide Oguntimehin” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ycGEJDr9VZlpO_5zujn3ZdvICxA=\/150×150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2024%2F12%2FAyomide-Oguntimehin-pics.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.<\/p>\n

Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master\u2019s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Jay Jay Okocha celebrating during action for Eintracht Frankfurt [Photo credit\/IMAGO] Former Super Eagles\u00a0and Bolton Wanderers star\u00a0Austin\u00a0Okocha enjoyed a glittering playing career built on flair and pure entertainment in his days,\u00a0Soccernet.ng\u00a0reports. The 1996 Olympic gold medallist is widely regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time\u00a0and\u00a0featured for several top European clubs\u00a0during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":902891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22524,1600,2005],"tags":[7531,8401],"class_list":{"0":"post-902890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arsenal","8":"category-legend","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-arsenal","11":"tag-legend"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}