The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid was one of millions of Arsenal fans who celebrated their recent victory over EPL defending champions Manchester City. Embiid, originally from Cameroon, is fluent in French, one of the official languages of his country. He previously claimed that he supports the team because of his French connection, claiming that Arsenal has had a plethora of French players over the years.
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The club pulled a remarkable victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, with the Brazilian Gabriell Martinelli scoring in the 86th minute. The 1-0 victory inspired a post from Embiid as well, who claimed that it was a massive win for the Gooners.
Joel Embiid posts after Arsenal’s win against Manchester City
Apart from being from Cameroon, Embiid is also known to be big on French culture and cuisine in general. Speaking to Sports Illustrated, he had claimed that it was his love for the country and its people that led him to support Arsenal,
“I’ve always been big on French people. A lot of people might not agree … They’ve always had a lot of French players.”
Embiid is entirely correct with the football club being the home of a range of France legends over the years. This includes the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Patrick Viera, and even Arsene Wenger, who is arguably their best manager of all time. His tweets explaining the reasons behind his support of the team was shared by Arsenal on Twitter as well:
We love this from the @sixers‘ @JoelEmbiid 🔴
Trust the process – and good luck at #NBALondon tonight 👊#NBAVote 🏀 pic.twitter.com/URtd3PRV8n
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 11, 2018
The thrilling yet close victory came without a single French player in the Arsenal lineup. As a matter of fact, none of the squad members that played against City came from France. Still, it resulted in the following tweet from the 2023 NBA MVP:
“MASSIVE WIN!!!! GOONERS”
MASSIVE WIN!!!! GOONERS
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 8, 2023
Despite City being the favorites, it was Arsenal who ended up winners on the night. Embiid was one of millions of people worldwide who celebrated the win, and appeared delighted with the performance.
Joel Embiid will play for Team USA, despite French connection
Embiid recently announced his decision to play for Team USA internationally. The Cameroonian was eligible to play for three countries.
Apart from France and the USA, he could obviously choose to play for Cameroon as well. Embiid explained that the decision was a result of him wanting to play with his brothers in the NBA.
I’m really proud and excited about this decision. It was not easy. I am blessed to call Cameroon, France, and the USA home. After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA. I want to play with my brothers in the league. I want to play for my fans because they’ve… pic.twitter.com/6VHSQTKVl3
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 5, 2023
Furthermore, he talked about how the 76ers’ fans had been loyal and supportive of him right from the start. Hence, Embiid’s future with Team USA was a result of his desire to keep giving back to his most loyal fans. This was not only in conjunction with his family but also a result of the love and support that he received in Philadelphia.
