Alex Iwobi is a very divisive figure at Arsenal, he has his supporters that swear by him and believe that he can be a great, then you have his detractors that believe he is a total waste of space and should be sold.
That is all well and good, we all have our opinions but this article is not about his talent, whether he is good enough for Arsenal or whether he can be our best player if used right. No, this article is about his attitude.
Now, I will say in advance that as sure as night follows day there will be comments about his talent and what he is good at or not good at. That is a simple waste of time because the focus of this article is not about any of that.
Iwobi has been speaking to Goal.com about the prospect of Wilfried Zaha or Yannick Carrasco coming to Arsenal and competing with him for a place in the team and his future at the Emirates.
“I don’t have any idea of going anywhere else, I’m an Arsenal player” He told Goal
“For a big club like Arsenal, you mentioned two great players so it will be exciting to have them.
“I don’t know anything that’s going on behind closed doors.”
Iwobi then gave his impression of Unai Emery and what it was like to work under the Spaniard
“It was good, he demanded a lot from us,” the winger said.
“We enjoyed working under him but we marginally missed out of the Champions League and unfortunately, we were unable to get the result we needed in the Europa League final.
“You can see there is a big progression, everyone is enjoying it. We look forward to next season.”
The Nigerian international then spoke about his own involvement in the team last season
“I was involved quite a lot last season,” he continued. “Obviously you want to start as many games as you can but it doesn’t work that way when you have a team like Arsenal, you just have to do well and whenever the opportunity comes, do your best. I just have to say thank you for the opportunity he is giving me.
“I’m happy to play anywhere [for Arsenal], I’ll play wherever I’m told to play. I’ve always seen myself as a midfielder, like an attacking midfielder but I’ll always give my best whether I’m told to play in the middle or somewhere else.”
Finally, the 23-year-old admitted that there was a mental issue last season.
He added: “On a good day, we’re able to beat any team as we showed last season.
“I think it’s more of a mental thing, make sure we are mentally ready for every game and we will be able to do well.”
Now, say what you like about Iwobi but if there is one thing you cannot fault, is his attitude.
He does not care where he is asked to play, he will not sulk or throw his dummy out of the pram, no, he will do what he is asked to do even when he knows he is being played out of position and will probably get hammered by the fans.
He remains very positive, he is open and honest about the failings and he has no fear of new signings.
And he has no intention of leaving the club, he wants to prove his worth and fight for his place.
If that attitude flowed through the entire team then our season will have ended on a far more positive note, that I am certain of.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYc-Utu17To[/embedyt]
To provide more details on the Tierney transfer, the bid accepted was £18.3m and will rise to around £25m if certain incentives are met during the players time at the club.
Tierney flew to London from Austria on June 27th and went under medical examinations.
Celtic want to sign a replacement before deal is announced. They are close to signing Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo from Rapid Vienna.
Kieran Tierney done deal!!!
Arsenal have not bid for Harry Maguire.Arsenal is interested in Lewis Dunk and have made contact with his club regarding a possible transfer
Are the Fekir rumours true?
Is there any interest in Ozil, Miki, Mustafi etc
Fekir interest is concrete.
Loan bid for Mustafi was rejected.
Nothing concrete on Ozil and Mkhitaryan
Harry Maguire! We ain’t got that money. The Dunk has got more probability than Harry
Ok sir
I love that he said he would “Play anywhere for Arsenal”.Thats refreshing to hear.GO AND PLAY FOR BRENTFORD THEN
funniest comeback ive heard on here for a while phil, good on ya, very witty,lol.
Nice hahahha
Iwobi should move on please
His leg can’t push ball that far and when he shoot is like passing he can’t track back,the guy don’t have strength to play for 50 minutes I’m get tired of all’em lazy players..one of reason Chelsea out played us in uefa final bunch of lazy players
He should stay because he is willing to take high risks in the field and he rarely gets injured
He is not lazy and he is courageous, as what he showed in Europa League final with his dribbles and thunderous shot
He skipped past three Chelsea players in Baku, whereas our high profile attackers couldn’t or are unwilling to take that risk
Absolutely spot on.
I think we’re dealing with the classic case of bandwagonism when Iwoby is regarded.
Or we are dealing with classic case of iwobi is great delusional fans syndrome.
Iwobi was never our problem
The problem was arsenal never
Had any Wenger and relied so
Much on iwobi who also didn’t
See himself as a wenger how
We survived a whole season
Without wide players and shit
Defence was a miracle
Winger ? wenger
He doesn’t have to worry about Zaha and Carrasco, because they would most likely not come due to their price tags
Nonetheless, he has to compete with Martinelli though, because they both are LW
If that is the level we are at a club then let’s get ready for a disappointing season
To everybody hating on Iwoby, remember Ramsey. And then remember that he’s 23 and that there’s still room to progress. I’d honestly keep him until he’s 25. Should he fail to improve by then, the club should ship him out. He’s an academy player, the club hasn’t paid a transfer fee to get him in the ranks.
Iwobi just needs to be a treat with the ball at his feet by learning to b courageous enough to take shots when chances fall at him. There is no gain having opposing teams dedicate their best defenders to marking out other players in the box instead of an Iwobi who has got the ball. His goal scoring instincts need to increase like Ramsay’s did coming into the 2015/16 season
I have yo say, He had a rough start at Arsenal, many youngsters/players had better start and given less opportunities.
However, he progressed and he should stay especially that senior players are not doing any betters. I see the potential he has, but he has to keep working and he seems willing to.
Iwobi can be an option off the bench.If be doesn’t up his game next season he will be sold because other players will improve and the competition will become higher.You can only blame him for not taking his chances last season to make the position his own.He should have started more games last season because we had no options out wide and if for nothing he always created that one chance in almost everything match he played.I wish we played to our team’s strength last season.Hopefully we won’t be seeing that dreadful three back system anymore.
Iwobi is worth backing, where as ozil on the other hand is worth sacking!
Footballers do make me laugh though: ‘a big improvement has been made’ and ‘its a mental Thing’.
Well let’s fecking improve a bit more shalle we and sort your heads out you bucnh of overpaid layabouts!!
Zaha is too selfish at least IWOBI
Let me finish that sentence for you mate
“At least iwobi is the pre assist king”
And nutmeg ?
Unsurprisingly a great attitude from a selfconfessed Gooner.
Imo he has some of the best tekkers at the club.
Iwobinho ❤️❤️
Tell me-is this the same Iwobinho who is being slated by the Nigerian Sports Press for his abysmal performances in ACON or is it the one who was slated by the Nigerian Sports Press for his abysmal performances in last years World Cup.Dropped again and couldn’t even influence against a National team the equivalent of Hartlepool United’s Ladies team.
Just asking
Well said Martin.As fans we should respect a player like Iwobi for his commendable attitude towards our Club.Whoever suggested he is lazy must be from another Planet?On the contrary he is probably the most prodigious worker in the team.What are you watching to think otherwise?
I think we should hold on to Iwobi,he has the right attitude,there is room for improvement which will come with good coaching and more game time.
Sticking strictly to the articles theme – which is a rare thing for me – I would definitely agree that Iwobi DOES always try his very best, as all players always should do. Wouldn’t you both agree, Ozil and Mkhi! (He asked sarcastically!) Whatever ones opinion, as a player of Iwobi , he is IMO a far greater man than either of the above two who are regularly conning wages from the club, which of course means from us fans. I have no time at all for frauds and never have, nor never will.
That’s a bit rough on Ozil & Mkhi! They’re human and I’m sure neither intends to make the mistakes they do or are intentionally putting in the performances they did last season.
But I agree that I’d prefer to see Iwobi in the starting 11 in the place of either Ozil or Mkhi based on last season. But things change, here’s hoping for more confidence from Mkhi and strength from Ozil in 19/20 🙂
Abbas , I will tell you what I find “a bit rough” It is “a bit rough” to have to pay these two frauds huge money each week, thus harming our ability to build a proper team of REAL TRYERS, CONSIDERING THAT BOTH OF THEM ARE JUST TAKING US ALL FOR A RIDE AND CARE NOTHING FOR THE CLUB, US FANS AND ONLY FOR THEIR HUGE AND UNDESERVED WAGES. They are frauds and if you cannot or will not see that which is co blindingly obvious, then I pity your comprehension; or LACK of it!