Almost from nowhere, Arsenal have a promising young star on their hands.
In retrospect, Gunners fans should be watching the likes of Ilkay Gundogan rather than Alex Iwobi, but the youngster has put in a string of impressive performances since his inclusion in March.
With nine goals in the under-21s’ final nine games of the last campaign, the powerful forward was the academy’s form player in the second half of last season, and despite other players being allowed to go out on loan, Wenger kept Iwobi, just in case.
Naturally a winger, the Lagos-born attacker – who is the nephew of former Bolton star, Jay-Jay Okocha – was converted into a central striker and caught the eye with a hat-trick against Stoke City at Emirates Stadium.
Iwobi has since become a regular in Arsenal’s starting line-up, and the 20-year-old has two goals and three assists in 20 appearances. Now it looks as though Arsene Wenger cannot leave him out.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger insisted in January that Iwobi ‘should be playing for England’, but Iwobi, who chose Nigeria as his international team said: “My father just told me to follow my heart. I also sought the opinion of my uncle, who shared his experiences. There are a lot of misconceptions about how football is run in Nigeria but I decided to see for myself.”
Iwobi made his competitive Super Eagles debut against Egypt last month, ending any chance of a switch back to the Three Lions.
The Nigerian’s impressive performances, brimming with self-confidence and technical proficiency, have reportedly led to Arsenal offering him a five-year contract worth around £30,000 a week.
Given his age and talent Iwobi looks like a player who could become an Arsenal regular for years, so it’s worth remembering he cost the club nothing having joined while still at primary school.
However, more than that, he has steeped himself in Arsenal’s style. By the time his opportunity came around, he was already familiar with the first-team’s pattern of play. That’s partly a credit to his education at the Arsenal academy, which moulds players specifically to suit Wenger’s technical approach, but it’s also because he had become accustomed to playing with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground.
Wenger has admitted to Arsenal.com that Iwobi’s training regime has helped him settle quickly – although even he has been surprised by the scale of his success: “He’s worked with us since the start of the season and he has grown, gained confidence and when he came in he had an impact straight away. That’s benefited from the fact that he knows everybody and they trust him as well. I didn’t expect that level of efficiency or impact on the scoresheet.”
Iwobi has become a regular fixture in the Arsenal team. He starts most games out on the left flank, but one of his great strengths is his ability to interchange positions with Ozil, Sanchez and even Danny Welbeck. He has helped restore some semblance of fluidity and balance to the Arsenal attack, and he is keeping seasoned internationals like Theo Walcott out of the side.
Iwobi needs to count himself fortunate that he is in the Arsenal ranks, because Wenger has a tradition of bringing in and turning kids into stars. However, had the pacy winger/forward been at Chelsea or at Manchester City, it is difficult to see how he would have got his break into the first team.
Arsenal’s season has been a dismal failure again – except for one bright shining light… and that’s Alex Iwobi.
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