Wrexham moved one step closer to automatic promotion on Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought victory over Stockport County.
A tight, cagey affair at the Racecourse Ground saw the home side come away with a 1-0 win thanks to a Jay Rodriguez goal.
The new signing registered his first Wrexham goal with a smart rebound after missing the initial penalty, and Phil Parkinson’s side held firm for the remaining hour to get all three points.
Rodriguez earned praise from Paul Merson for his goal, and the history books will always have him down as the match-winner, but Wrexham fans were more impressed by another, less obvious hero on the day.
Wrexham fans loved Arthur Okonkwo’s performance vs Stockport County
You can’t win a game of football if you concede a goal, and preventing that happening is something Arthur Okonkwo has gotten very good at as of late.
That’s now his second clean sheet in a row, both against huge promotion rivals, and fans wasted no time in praising the goalkeeper after the game.
One fan described Okonkwo as an “elite goalkeeper,” while another called him, “a wall in front of the Fourth Wall.” A third said the 23-year-old is a “clean sheet collector.”
Okonkwo’s great form has not gone unnoticed, with a supporter writing: “Five clean sheets in the seven games since he’s returned to the starting lineup.”
It’s not just Okonkwo getting all the plaudits, though, with one fan saying, “O’Connell and the lads at the back again were superb and Arthur. Unreal.”
Another added that Okonkwo has, “Definitely got his confidence back.”
Even non-Wrexham fans are impressed, with one posting: “It still blows my mind that they were able to get him temporarily for a year and were able to have him come back. He recognised the potential and felt the aura and energy when playing there. He’s going to be a massive foundational block for them for a long time.”
Arthur Okonkwo can be one of the Championship’s best goalkeepers
To have a goalkeeper like Okonkwo in League Two was, frankly, ridiculous. Even to have him now, in League One, seems like a massive coup for Wrexham.
While the young ‘keeper is not perfect, he’s pretty close, especially for this level. That’s now 14 clean sheets this season, with just 19 goals conceded in 25 league games.
To have that kind of solid presence as the last line of defence can only inspire confidence in others around him, and it makes Wrexham incredibly hard to beat.
| Statistics | Arthur Okonkwo 2024/25 (all competitions) |
| Appearances | 26 |
| Goals conceded | 20 |
| Save rate | 79.3% |
| Goals conceded/90 | 0.77 |
| Saves/90 | 2.64 |
| Clean sheet rate | 53.8% |
Make no mistake, Okonkwo can still get a lot better with time and experience, and his ceiling is very high indeed. If and when Wrexham make it to the Championship, Okonkwo will immediately be one of the best goalkeepers in the division.
There’s even an argument to be made that we could be seeing Wrexham’s number one for the next decade, and there’s no reason why he would look out of place in the Premier League is he keeps up his development at this rate.