Joe Aribo's Southampton journey guided by bravery and boldness

At just 26 years old, Aribo’s career has already taken the twists and turns of a seasoned professional. A lack of academy opportunities saw him cut his teeth with non-league Staines Town before a rapid elevation into the Charlton Athletic first team. 

Aribo traded South London for Scotland in 2019 and after a productive spell up north, he’s back in England and - finally - in the Premier League.

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The midfielder wouldn’t have ever reached Southampton if he was governed by fear. But from the roots of his football life, bravery has been second nature.

Growing up in Camberwell, south of the River Thames, Aribo spent virtually all his free time in the local cages, crafting his footballing pedigree against his older brother and those of a similar age to the elder Aribo.

The challenge was obvious and daunting: compete against much older boys while acting as the target of any rough and tumble treatment. But this kind of challenge has always been greeted by joy - as long as a football was involved.

“It was a fun time, the best times to be honest,” Aribo tells the Daily Echo of those early days. “Stress-free, playing for the purpose of playing. Just wanting to be out there and show everyone that you’re the best out there.

“I was quite small, if you speak to some of the students who went to my school they say ‘wow you’ve shot up.’ I left school and I’ve grown since, I didn’t really know that was going to happen! I played with my brother and he’s six years older than me, I played with his age-mates so I’m just getting kicked about all day.”

The snapshot into where Aribo has come from, tells us a great deal about who he is today. Bravery has come so naturally to him because in football at least, it’s always been associated with the purest of joy.

“I’m all about playing free and enjoying yourself so that’s what I want to do every single game. Even if I score and maybe don’t play well or don’t feel like I’m playing free then I’m not really happy. I always just want to be free and express myself. 

“That was it for me: just affect the game. And that’s what I’ve taken into my game, it hasn’t left me. Still just trying to effet it, try to leave my mark on every single game I play. It’s so important to play free. When you have a free mind and are happy you take risks and aren’t scared to do anything, it’s so important.

“I would say for me, when I was younger, it was harder for me to clear my mind. But now I’m in a zone where it’s just me. If I’m going to play well then it’s going to be because I’m comfortable, I’m in my zone, but if I’m thinking about too much then I’m not going to be in my comfort zone, I might be too shy to get on the ball, and that’s not a good thing to do.”

Aribo describes himself as “quiet” and “reserved” and while that might define his demeanor off the pitch, it’s almost the opposite on it where the Nigerian international’s entire game is based on getting involved as much as possible and taking risks to try and make something happen.

Don’t confuse Aribo’s quiet nature with a lack of boldness - all the evidence points to there being no connection whatsoever. When fear strikes, Aribo leans in. Just look at his move to Rangers which his former manager at Charlton, Lee Bowyer, claimed was “not the right place for him”.

Discomfort has often followed Aribo around, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say, he’s chased the edges of his own comfort zone.

"I think for me, what’s so important is the timing of everything. I had some offers down south but I chose to go away from home, come out of my comfort zone - which is so important for your own growth personally. So for me, life is about little steps to get to your goal and that’s why I made the choice to go up there. And then why I came back to Southampton.

"I was staying in a house in Charlton but I was going home every single day so Rangers was the first time I was actually away and not seeing my family. I remember first going up there, I was homesick, it wasn’t very easy for me. But that all comes with growing and getting out of your comfort zone so I had to make that step.

"Going to Scotland was probably when I had my most fears. Even the pressure of playing for Rangers, such a big club, crazy fanbase, knowing you have to perform every single game is crazy, so I wouldn’t say I necessarily had fears coming back down south but I think my only fear is just wanting to do well. I care so much about doing well and impacting every game I can - so that’s my biggest fear."

After such a long and relatively unlikely journey to the top, Aribo has no interest in letting fear stop him. As he went from boy to man without any contract offers, he considered that football might not open up for him. But the rise since those early doubts has been so rapid, he’s barely had a chance to sit down with his thoughts and achievements.

“There were stages when I was thinking ‘okay I need to look to do something else, football might not be the one for me.’ I think as you get older a lot of other things come into play. You want to sign as early as possible but when you get to like 18 which I was, you have to start thinking ‘football might not be the route that I go down.' But I kept striving, I kept pushing, and thankfully to god I got the opportunity.”

Virtually from the moment he broke into the Charlton team, Aribo was a regular, helping the South London side to League One promotion in his third and final season at The Valley.

“What’s funny is I’ve never really had the chance to sit and just think about things," Aribo says of his breakthrough.

"At the time I was so happy - it was my biggest achievement in football - so it’s one that I treasure. But I never really got the time to just sit down and think about it because it was like ‘okay, what’s next? What’s next?’ That’s always going on with me, it’s always the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. So of course, it was a nice feeling but I just moved on from it quite quickly.”

Despite the warning of his former boss Bowyer, the move to Rangers only enhanced Aribo’s reputation, aided in part by a goal in last season’s Europa League final. And while Aribo has never been one to avoid big decisions, he also puts great weight into the timing of those.

This though was the right time. The right time to return to England to achieve another dream: playing in the Premier League. It’s not exactly his home of South London, but Southampton offered Aribo what he was looking for and in July he officially became a Saint.

Now back in England, Aribo is closer to those who helped set him up for his success while being able to return to the area which curated his passion. Camberwell isn't traditionally known for its football. But with Aribo at the helm, that is quickly changing.

"In my area, not many people play football but those that do, it’s a good standard. The ones that wanted to play and kept pushing they’ve done well for themselves. It’s good to have those people around, seeing it, because it makes you want to be on their level.

"Now a lot of boys from my area have actually gone on to play professional football. There’s Tarique Fosu (at Stoke City), grew up in the same area, Viv Solomon at Birmingham, so there’s a few of us. 

"I think it’s important for the community to have people to look up to so look at them and say ‘okay, he’s done it, so I can do it.’ I think you need that around you, that’s important. It’s so important to have a role model, someone to look up to. Someone who’s already done it because that gives you that belief that I can do it as well.

"I’m more of a reserved person. I think what I’ve done in terms of football has made me become one (a role model) especially in my area because not many have done it in the area. So for me, it’s not really in my comfort zone but I’m all about giving back to the community and helping so I think it’s really important to even just turn up on the odd occasion, they see my face, they can have conversations with me, they can ask questions.

"What’s important is not forgetting where you come from. You owe so much to what’s been going on in the area, you have to give back, and it’s so important to do that."

Already on his way to legendary status in the area he was raised, Saints fans will be hoping Aribo can plant a firm stamp on this fledgling Southampton career when the Premier League returns from the World Cup break.

There have been moments of flair and crucial goals against Leeds and Everton but Aribo himself will feel there's a long way to go to reach his potential - particularly if he wants to compare himself to the man who incited his passion for the game in the first place.

"The reason I started playing football was Ronaldinho. I remember watching his video when he hit the crossbar so many times, that was like ‘wow, crazy.’ That was the main factor that made me want to play football."

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