Because of the ongoing injury situation at Arsenal, along with the brilliant form of our German international play maker this season, Arsene Wenger has found it very difficult to give Mesut Ozil any time off. But with the Premier League and the fitness of our key player in mind, the boss did not include him in the FA cup squad today and instead gave the number 10 role to young academy star Alex Iwobi.
You have to say that the 19-year old grabbed his chance to impress with both hands, looking calm and composed on the ball as well as being very lively and a constant threat. The fact that he did not look at all out of place among his technically gifted Arsenal team mates and that we did not miss Ozil operating behind the forward three speaks volumes.
It was not just Iwobi’s talent that was put to the test today either, because after the visitors took a shock lead and the Arsenal team in general were a bit off the pace there was a lot of pressure on the youngster’s shoulders but he took it all in his stride.
It will certainly be interesting to see whether the boss gives him another chance in that position for the next FA cup game or if he moves back out to his more usual wide forward position. Have we just seen the first steps of an Arsenal star of the future?