The decline of local league football in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 90s coincided almost perfectly with the rise in popularity of the English top flight.
As the Premier League spread its wings and beamed a glossy, well-produced spectacle pregnant with history across the globe, a race for the soul of African football fans ostensibly began.
Much of the fandom within the continent before then was centered on Manchester United and Liverpool, the two behemoths of the English game in the decade that straddled the formation of the Premier League. However, the rise of Arsenal as a force, heralded by the arrival of Arsene Wenger in 1996, introduced another horse into the race.