Joe Aribo: How cage football unlocked Southampton midfielder's potential

Following a hugely disappointing Premier League relegation campaign at Southampton last season, a trip down memory lane can still put a smile on Joe Aribo's face.

The Nigeria midfielder is visiting the artificial pitch in Mitcham, south London, where he grew up.

Surrounded by a tall green chain-link fence, Aribo says playing football in the cage made him "the player I am today".

"In the summer, I'd be here from the morning until night time," the 29-year-old explains to BBC Sport Africa.

"I'd probably have a one-hour break where I'd go to the shop, get some drinks with my friends, and then straight back to it.

"It's just one of the best times of my life."

So what did he learn from the hours of roll-on, roll-off encounters?

"First touch, close control, dribbling," he says.

"My game is dribbling, trying to face up my opponent and get past him. And I've learned that all here.

"Cage football is different to football on a normal pitch because there's just not a lot of room to manoeuvre.

"In the cages it's not really tactical. No one sticks to a position, it's everyone running everywhere, and you've just got to build awareness and understand how frantic it can be."

That disorder, perhaps unsurprisingly, also manifested itself in other ways.

"Physically it was rough," he says.

"That's why, as a professional now, if I go down I don't stay down. Because I grew up in a place where, if I got kicked down, I have to get back up."

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