Marc Bola

Marc Bola

Bola in 2025.
Personal information
Full name	Marc Joel Bola [1]
Date of birth	(1997-12-09) 9 December 1997 (age 27) [2]
Place of birth	Greenwich, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [2]
Position	Left back
Team information
Current team	Watford
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)
2023–2025	Samsunspor	53	(1)
2025–	Watford	9	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11:25, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

Marc Joel Bola (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for EFL Championship club Watford.

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 ^[18] He was sent off in September 2018, but the club appealed to the FA who overruled it and rescinded the three-match ban.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] In September 2021, a complaint was made about a Tweet Bola had posted 9 years earlier, when he was 14 years old, and he was charged with "aggravated misconduct" by the FA. ^[23] An FA hearing was concluded on 3 November 2021 which found he had shown "genuine remorse". He was not suspended and, instead, ordered to attend a face-to-face education programme. ^[24]

Samsunspor

On 9 July 2023, Bola signed for Turkish Süper Lig side Samsunspor for an undisclosed fee. ^[25]

Watford

On 6 June 2025, Bola agreed to return to England, joining Championship side Watford on a three-year deal. ^{[26] [27]}

Career statistics

As of 1 November 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup [a]		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	2016–17 [13]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2017–18 [16]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Notts County (loan)	2016–17 [13]	League Two	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Bristol Rovers (loan)	2017–18 [16]	League One	18	0	0	0	2	0	3 [b]	0	23	0
Blackpool	2018–19 [28]	League One	35	2	3	0	4	0	1 [b]	0	43	2
Middlesbrough	2019–20 [29]	Championship	7	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	8	1
	2020–21 [30]		41	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	43	1
	2021–22 [31]		23	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	25	1
	2022–23 [32]		25	0	1	0	1	0	—		27	0
	Total		96	2	4	0	3	1	0	0	103	3
Blackpool (loan)	2019–20 [29]	League One	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Samsunspor	2023–24	Süper Lig	20	0	3	0	—		—		23	0
	2024–25		33	1	0	0	—		—		33	1
	Total		53	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	56	1
Watford	2025–26 [33]	Championship	9	0	0	0	1	0	—		10	0
Career total			230	5	10	0	9	1	4	0	254	6

1. Includes FA Cup and Turkish Cup
2. 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. "Marc Bola: Middlesbrough defender charged by FA over nine-year-old social media post". BBC Sport. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
24. "Football Association Regulatory Commission - The Football Association v Marc Bola". Football Association. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
25. "Defender Bola leaves Boro for Samsunspor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
26. "Official: Hornets Swoop For Bola". www.watfordfc.com. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
27. "Marc Bola: Watford sign former Middlesbrough defender". BBC Sport. 6 June 2025.
28. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
29. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
30. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
31. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
32. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
33. "Games played by Marc Bola in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 October 2025.