Football leaders in Nigeria urge Arsenal forward and national team captain Kanu to leave Highbury and find a club where he can play regularly.

"... if he’s only warming the bench, his morale will be flat on the floor and when he’s called up to play for Nigeria, he’s not in form and is unable to contribute meaningfully to team play," Fanny Amun told Nigerian paper Vanguard. He's head of the technical department of the Nigeria Football Association, and was the coach when Kanu made his international breakthrough when Nigeria won the U17 World Cup in 1993.

Amun revealed that Kanu's confidence is shot after getting few chances last season. However, there's no rift between him and manager Arsène Wenger.

Earlier, it has been suggested that Kanu wants to stay with Arsenal one more year in order to get permanent residency in Britain. A friend of Kanu said to Vanguard that the chief reason is the fact that he would have to start learning yet another language if he leaves England! After courses in Dutch, Italian and English, the 27-year-old doesn't want to learn Turkish or Spanish as well.

Other commentators are worried that Kanu is the victim of French favouritism, as Wenger seems to prefer forwards from his own country...