When Alex Iwobi was promoted to the Arsenal first team by Arsene Wenger a couple of years ago, we all had high hopes that would emulate his legendary uncle Jay-Jay Okucha, but his form has simply not enamoured him to the Arsenal fans and has a reputation for his wild shooting ability.
But he is still young and could improve, but his performance at the World Cup with Nigeria has put yet another dampener on his career. He was awful in Nigeria’s opening game against Croatia and was substituted, then only only came on as a last-minute sub in their following matches against Argentina and Iceland.
Iwobi himself blamed the fact that he was not in his favoured position. The Arsenal forward said: ”The number ten position is where I have grown up playing. When I play out wide, it is normally to sacrifice to help the team but anywhere I am told to play, I don’t mind,”
“I didn’t do well against Croatia, it was a hard game for everyone. Iceland, I came on and I did my best but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how I do as long as the team does well.”
It sounds like he does mind where he plays and therein lies the problem. If he wants to play Number 10 for Arsenal then he may as well pack his bags now, as their is simply no chance of him being picked ahead of Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey or Mhkitaryan.
Should Arsenal simply move him on now or give him another couple of years to see if he improves?
Admin
no,iwobi is not premier league quality.Sell him as there is a number of better players and time is of the essence
Can you tell us which players are premiership quality. There grosses of players there he is better than.
I think Alex Iwobi will be used by Unai Emery next season.
Really?To do what?Clean the players boots?I would bet he couldn’t even do that without mixing up the left from the right.
Rubbish player who offers NOTHING.
Football genius do you consider your self a fan of Arsenal?
Absolutely I consider myself a fan of Arsenal.And you don’t need to be a genius to know that Alex Iwobi will NEVER be good enough to play for the team.He was brought into the side by a manager who blindly refused to admit to ever making a mistake over a player and Iwobi has continued to prove just how untalented a player he really is.
Well said Phil
You guys said more about Ramsey when Wenger keep faith in Him. And today, Ramsey is one of the best if not the best player in Arsenal.
We should loan him out for a season that’s what we should of done in the first place but we took the cheep rout again and it’s posible we may of damaged his confidence, Iwobi has immense talent he just needs to have less expectation on his shoulders and start to enjoy his game again
He sounded like Wilshere? While he sometimes does a good job as a no 10 in several matches, there is no way he could put a 350K per week player on the bench
If Iwobi really has great skills, he should be able to play well in other positions. Otherwise he is just another Ozil and Giroud, limited in skills and can only play in one position
Because Iwobi cannot start ahead of Ozil, Ramsey and Mkhitaryan as a no 10, he could compete in a deeper midfield area like Pirlo or goes for a loan. Iwobi possesses a very good close ball control skill like Cazorla and he could be the future of Arsenal, if guided well
Gotanidea, how I agree with your statement that professional players should be able to play in any position, but there must come a time when it is obvious the position that he is best at?
Your comments on Ozil and Giroud are more contentious however, especially the one regarding limited skills.
Ozil has limited skills? Where did that one come from?
You can argue about his body language, defensive attributes and even his salary, but limited skills!!!!!
Just look at the stats and smell the coffee for goodness sake!
Giroud is a different example, but there can be no question about his position now either surely?
If Iwobi wants to play in the position he has indicated, then I agree with your sentiments and he should go.
Should he go anyway? I will leave that decision to our new manager.
After all, he ain’t done bad so far regarding the playing staff has he?
Well the new manager has ok’d a new contract for Xhaka and hinted he will make Ramsey captain so for me not all his decisions are spot on. Just hope he has some plan to improve those two.
I think he is spot on making Ramsey the captain. Ramsey remain one of the longest serving player in the team and his importance cannot the over emphasized.
Would I rather have Iwobi as a no 10 instead of Ozil??? No chance…. sorry but he’s had plenty of chances to shine & hasn’t managed it… I don’t think he’s Arsenal standard
If we put him up for sale, would any of the other big clubs come in for him? Hell no! He has a future, just not in North London
This is a ridiculous question and some of the responses i have read here, comparing him with seasoned pros like Ozil and Mhki are not very thoughtful. Iwobi is 21/22 years old and should really still be in the u23s. I suspect he will continue his education there next season or be sent out on loan.
Why are you guys not saying the same about Holding and Chambers who are a year older and who actually cost us a lot of money? They were equally shocking last season as the entire club suffered from the mad decision to give Wenger another year. Bellerin, Mustafi, Ozil… they were all rubbish last year… shall we get rid of them too?
Iwobi’s talent is obvious but he needs to develop. Lets hope he comes good for us over the next few years, afterall he is every bit of a gooner as was the unfortunate Jack Willshere.
Get a grip guys!
Uh because the topic is about Iwobi!!!
Just not in the northern hemisphere. I think he could do well playing for some unknown club in Australia.
?
He couldn’t handle the physicality.
IWOBI is not good enough for Arsenal FC plain and simple
And i’m Nigerian, but i am never bias.
Playing Iwobi was the reason we missed top four in the last two season which winger scores 3 goals in the entire season. An average winger should be scoring at least 10 goals in a season.Iwobi out
Steady on. Are you seriously pinning the blame on Arsenal finishing outside the top four on Iwobi? Seriously? Walk us through your reasoning and how an extra 7 or 8 goals from Iwobi would have turned us into top four.
For cry out load, this guy is just less than 23 years old, comparing him with Ozil, Mikky and Ramsey will be an injustice to this young Lad. Where then is the future? Ozil and Mikky will be out of steam in 2 to 3 years time. Selling Iwobi now is not economical for the club in future because his skills will be needed then. Gnabry is now a Bayern Munich player. Very soon, he will become another Harry Kane and we will all blame Wenger for not patient with Gnabry. let us learn to carry young player along. If Ramsey was sold 3 seasons ago according to your belief, we will not have a trusted Ramsey now. Iwobi might not be up to standard now but I see in that young man, a future we will all be proud of.
Torreira what a special talent, sign him up
I believe he can improve and be a good squad player for us under Emery
The same question should also be asked about Welbeck , which my answer is no.
Iwobi would thrive under Emery. He is the FUTURE!!
Yeah and according to Peter Kay so is garlic bread.And I know which one I prefer
Iwobi has talent, but hasn’t managed to harness it yet. There are flashes of brilliance that give hope, but soon followed by poor decision making.
He needs a loan desperately for many reasons IMHO
1. Regular game time to find consistency
2. Mature mentally both on and off pitch
3. Learn versatility; play as winger or cm
4. Learn to defend FFS!
I hope he finds success on loan and returns to the fold. If not, cut him lose and stop wasting time. Concentrate on youngsters who offer more and prepare them to challenge for the first team.
Sentimentality has held the club back long enough. Sharpen up or ship out.
I think a two year lone spell to a lesser team with less pressure will do him alot of good. That will also give arsenal time to determine if he is in a better position by then to succeed either of ozil or Ramsey
Iwobi is a good player who needs work on his decision making and finishing. He’s got decent pace, close control and can dribble. He wasn’t responsible for our last season woes
He would be a slightly above player at Palace. Send him on loan or sell. His goal record is truly appalling
For attackers We have Aubameyang, Lacazette, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Welbeck, Perez, Campbell, Nelson, Nketiah, Akpom, Asano
We should sell a few (Perez, Campbell, Akpom, Asano) and loan out Iwobi and sign another top winger/attacking midfielder ie Mahrez, Draxler, etc.
Wish we could sell Ozil and get a more consistent hard working CAM but he is here to stay. Hopefully Emery can knock some sense into him
Apart from strength, I am not sure what other abilities Iwobi has? I think some players that were awful under Wenger, can improve under Emery, but I just do not see any real potential in Iwobi at all. Either sell, or loan him to a Premier League club, but I’d prefer to sell, and get a bit of money in. No more letting contracts run down!
Based on that sentiment I would say that Iwobi has no future at AFC. He’s a million miles away from being a Champion’s League & Premier League challenging No.10.
If he wants to make it in his preferred position, then he should put-in a transfer request and try to cement a place lower down the table or in an easier league. If he wants to stay at Arsenal, then (At best) he’ll need to get a lot better at playing out-of-position as a squad player.
The only person who can answer the article’s question is the manager. We can all give our opinions but his is the only one that counts.
GB, my thoughts exactly.
What makes me smile is all these posters who accuse him of having no talent whatsoever and then make the astounding statement that we should sell him.
As I’ve said before, let the manager assess the players, then decide who he wants to keep.
That’s one of the reasons the club employed him, another one being to try and emulate the previous manager’s successes and yet another reason to build the squad he deems will make him the most successful manager ever for Arsenal.
hasn’t proven it. Will probably be used in early Europa League stages but nothing much beyond that. Just a squad player
When Iwobi started playing for us, he was brilliant, and i actually agree with him. His best position is CAM. However, he was played out of position, had no real mentor and was essentially expected to just become better without the necessary support. Iwobi will be great- but isnt right now. He shouldnt be starting more than 10 games a sesaon. The same developmental train that Nelson, Nketiah, Smith Rowe etc are on, is the same one Iwobi should be on. Occasional epl games, guaranteed start in Carabao and some Europa. He was thrown in the deep end. I didnt include Maitland Niles on the development train because i think he is ready. He should be a key sub in the 70th min(esp if we get Torreira) to sit with him to protect a lead and to start some epl games-15 a season, guaranteed Europa spot and step in when first choice DMs are injured or exhausted, but he essentially do more(but lets not rush him).
*he essentially can do more
Xherdan Shakiri… I feel like he can be available at a relatively low price considering Stoke were relegated… Can be the left footed dribbling pacy winger we are looking for… And considering he is only 26, it will be more than a bargain. Had experience with Munich at the Top level… What Do You Guys Think…
@Yakubu Hayim
Xherdan Shakiri would shine with arsenal
Very talented player
ah jeepers, i see there are one or two contrary aul goats still left on here. i really thought they would follow their guru out the gates . but thats where thought left me . its only a game after all guys . i would say grow up , but one of the goats i am talking about , much like myself , has gone well past their best by date . roll on the new season , new beginnings , new man in charge .