'I didn't know this until after' - Forgotten former Portsmouth midfielder on how he was misunderstood during Fratton Park stint

But the former Blues loanee admitted that’s something he’s well used to as he refuses to conform to the norm of what football often expects of its players.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, the 22-year-old - who’s currently plying his trade for Greek second-tier side PAS Giannina - claimed feeling misjudged was something he became accustomed to at Arsenal, the club that granted him a loan move to Fratton Park for the 2021-22 season.

And using an example of a team meeting at Pompey under then boss Danny Cowley, Azeez believes it was a pattern that was replicated at PO4.

The midfielder, who enjoys expressing himself through art, music and fashion, said: ‘As a person, I’m outspoken. If I believe something, I say it.

‘It was a squad meeting where we were to say our ambitions for the season and career. I said I wanted to be one of the best players in the world, which I still say.

‘I didn’t know this until after I left, but it was taken as: “Who is he coming from Arsenal saying this?” But that was just my goal.’

A lot has been said about Azeez’s League One loan spell at Pompey - a stay that was cut short after five months following just 10 appearances.

Cowley’s former assistant at Fratton Park, Simon Bassey, told The News in February 2024: ‘It never worked out for Miguel, every kid is different. There are ones that listen and take it on board and others that don’t and it doesn't work for them, they haven’t yet got the skillset to take it on yet.

‘People mature at different ages and he’s still young and still trying to work it out. Sometimes it takes these boys a little longer than it does others. It’s never in a straight line, there’s always bad spots in your career or it doesn’t go for you.

‘You have to remember, League One and League Two are different sports to what they play in the Premier League. For him to come down and adapt wasn’t easy, he found it hard physically.

‘Miguel should have been above the level because he was a superb athlete, but didn’t seem to bring that athleticism to his game. The lad was super confident in what he was and had a lot of people around him telling him how good he’s going to be. Sometimes, though, you have to sit in the dark on your own and really do some soul searching.’

That’s something similar to what The Athletic have quoted Cowley as saying in the aftermath of Azeez’s exit. ‘There are some areas of his game that are beyond this level and other areas that he needs to keep working at, as with any young player,’ the now Colchester boss said.

Responding, the former England under-20 international hit back. He said: ‘I can say there were things I needed to work on in my game. ‘That is the whole reason of the loan system and I was 18. If you expect me to have everything at 18, then I’d be Lionel Messi.’

‘Aloof’ Azeez

Azeez, who has lined up for four other clubs since his Fratton Park exit and made just 30 senior appearances, left Arsenal in February 2024 - after being snapped up by the North London club just before his fifth birthday.

He left the Gunners after one outing for the first team and after just a handful more appearance for their age-group sides after waving goodbye to those at Fratton Park in January 2022.

Speaking about his time with the Premier League outfit, Azeez said there were unfair assumptions made about him.

‘I definitely felt, not adversity, but being misjudged,’ he said.

‘Ask anyone at Arsenal - I was always first into training and last to leave. If I looked like a quintessential footballer they would not have thought anything of it but because of how I looked, the hairstyles, the face, jewellery, whatever it was, they would say: “He is trying to be aloof by coming in early to be by himself”. I was just trying to improve.

‘That word “aloof” was used against me at Arsenal. My team-mates were in the changing room on their phones on Snapchat when I was in the gym working, but they would just see me by myself and put two and two together.

‘The players seemed to take to it, which was nice. It was from the coaching side of things. I don’t know if it was an upbringing thing or a hierarchy thing. I took it as people thinking: “Who does he think he is? Does he think he is better than me?” Nah, I’m just being myself. I’m not causing any harm by wearing a pair of heels.

‘There was always this thing representing the badge. I get that, but I think they wanted a different image to what I was giving.

‘I guess there’s a lot of people who would change their personalities just to get to where they felt they needed to be. I’ve always said I’m a person who plays football. When people start to think they are a footballer before they’re a person, that’s when they start to change who they are.’

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