Marc Bola

Marc Joel Bola (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Süper Lig club Samsunspor.

Marc Bola
Personal information
Full name Marc Joel Bola[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-09) 9 December 1997[2]
Place of birth Greenwich, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 Samsunspor
Number 16
Youth career
Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Arsenal 0 (0)
2017 → Notts County (loan) 13 (0)
2017–2018 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 18 (0)
2018–2019 Blackpool 35 (2)
2019–2023 Middlesbrough 96 (2)
2020 → Blackpool (loan) 6 (0)
2023– Samsunspor 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:46, 1 May 2023 (UTC)

Early and personal life

Bola grew up supporting Arsenal, the team he started his professional career at.[3] He is of Congolese descent.[4][5]

Career

Arsenal

Born in London Borough of Greenwich, Bola joined Arsenal Academy when he was 13 after being spotted playing Sunday league football and at 16, he earned a scholarship.[6] After progressing through the ranks, he was promoted to the reserve side.[7] At the reserve side, Bola became a regular there and scored his first goal for the reserve side on 9 March 2016, in a 3–3 draw against Fulham U23.[8][9]

Bola turned professional with Arsenal in April 2016.[10][11]

Bola moved on loan to Notts County in January 2017.[12] He made his Notts County debut on 4 February 2017, where he played 53 minutes, in a 2–0 loss against Accrington Stanley, and went on to make 13 appearances for the side before returning to his parent club at the end of the season.[13]

In July 2017, he signed a season-long loan deal with Bristol Rovers.[14] Bola made his Bristol Rovers debut on 16 September 2017, in a 3–0 loss against Wigan Athletic.[15][16]

Blackpool

He was released by Arsenal at the end of the 2017–18 season.[17] Following his release he signed for Blackpool on a one-year contract.[18] He was sent off in September 2018, but the club appealed to the FA who overruled it and rescinded the three-match ban.[19]

Middlesbrough

Bola joined Middlesbrough on 28 July 2019 for an undisclosed fee.[20] He scored on his debut for Middlesbrough in an EFL Cup tie against Crewe Alexandra on 13 August 2019.[21] On 10 January 2020 he returned to Blackpool on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.[22]

Samsunspor

On 9 July 2023, Bola signed for Turkish Süper Lig side Samsunspor for an undisclosed fee.[23]

Controversy

In September 2021, Bola was officially charged with "aggravated misconduct" by the FA for posting a tweet that "made a reference to sexual orientation" nine years ago, at the age of 14. [24]

Career statistics
As of 30 April 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2016–17[13] Premier League 0000000000
2017–18[16] 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Notts County (loan) 2016–17[13] League Two 130000000130
Bristol Rovers (loan) 2017–18[16] League One 18000203[lower-alpha 1]0230
Blackpool 2018–19[25] League One 35230401[lower-alpha 1]0432
Middlesbrough 2019–20[26] Championship 7000110081
2020–21[27] 411101000431
2021–22[28] 231100000241
Total 712202100753
Blackpool (loan) 2019–20[26] League One 6000000060
Career total 14345081401605
  1. Appearance(s) in the EFL Trophy.

Playing style

Bola plays primarily as a left back, but can also play as a centre back and a striker.[3]

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 42. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. "Profile". 11v11. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  3. "Marc Bola Features". Arsenal F.C. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  4. "Arsenal Super Kid Bola Clarifies : I Am Not Eligible To Play For Nigeria:: All Nigeria Soccer – The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  5. "Football des jeunes : la RDC U20 joue en amical contre l'Angleterre junior – adiac-congo.com : toute l'actualité du Bassin du Congo". www.adiac-congo.com.
  6. "Marc Bola on his time at Arsenal, initiation songs, Bristol Rovers debut and adapting to League One". Bristol Post. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. "Profile". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. "U-21s: Fulham 0–3 Arsenal – Match report". Arsenal F.C. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  9. "Who is new Bristol Rovers signing Marc Bola? What we know about the Arsenal defender". Bristol Post. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  10. Sean Kearns (7 April 2016). "Marc Bola signs new contract with Arsenal to stay at the Emirates". Metro. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  11. "Marc Bola signs new contract". Arsenal F.C. 7 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  12. "Notts County sign Jorge Grant, Marc Bola and Josh Clackstone on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  13. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. "Marc Bola: Arsenal youngster joins Bristol Rovers on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  15. "How Arsenal loanee Marc Bola has grabbed his chance with Bristol Rovers". Bristol Post. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  16. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  17. "Premier League clubs publish released lists". Premier League. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  18. "lackpool sign Oldham defender Ryan McLaughlin and ex-Arsenal left-back Marc Bola". BBC Sport. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  19. "Blackpool: Marc Bola ban lifted but Donervon Daniels red card upheld". BBC Sport. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  20. Marc Bola: "Middlesbrough sign Blackpool defender" – BBC Sport, 28 July
  21. "Middlesbrough 2–2 Crewe". BBC. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  22. "Marc Bola: Blackpool re-sign left-back on loan from Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 10 January 2020.
  23. "Defender Bola leaves Boro for Samsunspor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  24. "Marc Bola: Middlesbrough defender charged by FA over nine-year-old social media post". BBC Sport. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  25. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  26. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  27. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  28. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
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