Iwobi injured but Emery is pushing him to improve

Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Bournemouth tomorrow, it has been revealed by Arsenal.com that Alex Iwobi picked up a knock to his right ankle and is a doubt to play against the Cherries, but when asked about the Nigerian’s progress this season, Unai Emery admitted he was very happy with him so far but was looking for improvement in the future, as we all should.

The boss said: “I am very happy and I think he is working a lot to improve and he has energy, he has quality, he has things to improve. But he can do that,”

“For us, we have to be demanding with him and he himself be demanding to improve the things that he can get better at in his qualities.

“When he’s getting into the attacking third, into the box, [he needs] to be calm to decide the last action with assists and scoring more.

“But he is giving us a lot of attacking moments and opening space for other players when they are arriving to the ball.”

As he has been in the first XI for a while now, it is easy to forget that Iwobi is just 22 years old and has a lot of growing and improvement to come. This season he has definitely been moving in the right direction and is improving. Despite the amount of attention he gets on here, I think we should give him time to grow and improve and in a couple of years time we will be hailing him as a future Arsenal legend.

Let’s be positive shall we?

Sam P

85 Comments

  1. Best article of the year… I couldn’t agree more with the author. I just hope Iwobi is able to shake off that injury and be ready for our next game because we need him. It will be a MASSIVE loss if he doesn’t play… COYG!!

      1. I would say it might be a blessing in disguise ,maybe now we can get some proper footballers into the team at longlast .
        Players who can actually have a say on the pitch
        He might have improved this season but he’s still not good enough unless the manager is happy to stay in the race for 4 th place

    1. Hehe Troll. watch people go for the iwobi bait. Though I think he is an average player I would love to be proven wrong. He is an arsenal player after all and is in our interest that he performs. He is not going anywhere since the manager believes in him so might as well buy into the hype.

      1. Never buy into mediocrity, love his mindset but he’s just not top quality. A very good mid to lower table player.

  2. Emery has pinpointed the problem ‘calmness’ but in that interview he had also highlighted the positives in what he sees, which I’m in agreeance with. BUT as Arsenalwhy said he does have to improve to be accepted as a first team player or even an Arsenal player from some factions. It’s in our interest that he comes good.

  3. If you compare the expected performances of each of our first team players to their actual performances under Emery, you will just have to cut Iwobi some slags. Like the coach and Iwobi himself have said he needs more improvement.

    1. But the wider picture as a club shows we went from Sanchez 10+ assists and goals a season to Iwobi and that’s what is hard to swallow.

      1. Can you suggest anyone better in the team as a winger right now other than Iwobi?
        Until the summer transfer window when/if we have a chance to sign someone (depends on the transfer budget sanctioned) support Iwobi if you are a true AFC fan. Agree he is no Sanchez in skill, but that should not be a reason to slate him as a person, criticize his skill only. Talk is cheap!

  4. Who has more attacking qualities at Arsenal now; Iwobi…

    Who gives us more chances of getting into goalscoring situations; Iwobi…

    Who has the ability to beat a man at Arsenal now…
    Still Iwobi…..

    Iwobi is one of the first name on the team sheet, whether you like it or not…

    Emery knows a good material when he sees one
    He doesn’t joke with Iwobi, because he knows Iwobi is crucial to his team chances of winning a match

    If you want to see the best of Iwobi, just play him at attacking central midfield, you will think you are seeing Rosicky…

    That is the role he plays for Nigeria now…
    He is so good to watch when he plays that role

    1. Hold on a second.Im just re -reading what you wrote to see if I am dreaming (more like a nightmare).
      So according to you Iwobi is of the same quality as Rosicky.
      I am at a total loss.On the one hand we have a player who,but for injuries,would likely have become a legend at the Club.And YOU compare Iwobi to him?
      The world has gone mad

      1. And as for believing we would be seeing Iwobi resembling TR7 on the pitch all I can say is TR7 used to effortlessly cover the ground.Iwobi flaps those arms so much when he runs that you can’t help wondering if he is about to burst into a rendition of The Birdie Song as he bumbles his way up another hopeless deadend.
        Altogether Now-Da da da da da da da
        Dada dada da da da
        Da Da Da Da
        Now flap those arms ………

        Repeat 20 times……..

      2. Am not sure you understand English
        Did I ever compare him with my favorite player ever Rosicky…

        Read it again and tell me where I compared him with Rosicky….

        Let me tell you again Old man with sentimental sense of reasoning,
        Iwobi is far more productive than your god Ozil…

        Let me tell you this again,
        Emery cannot wait to see the back of your liability god come summer….

        Iwobi is far more crucial to Arsenal chances of clinching Top 4 than that your god Ozil…

        infact Emery does not trust your liability to do a job…
        He does not rate him at all..

        Even Pep cannot tolerate Ozil Talkless of making a bid for him….

        Bournemouth is a strong team,
        i expect Ozil to make the bench at most…

        We cant trust him to do a job tomorrow…
        Because he goes missing most times…

        1. If your comment is in English, then yes you compared Iwobi to TR. “just play him at attacking central midfield, you will think you are seeing Rosicky”
          Don’t bother re-reading your own comment. It’s not worth.

          1. Iffy-I am 62 my old cocker and wouldn’t mind betting I’m fitter and stronger than you will ever be.
            I accept your English is not good and wouldn’t mind betting its on par with my Nigerian.
            If you think a Iwobi is better than Ozil then carrybon living in your cloud cuckoo land

            1. He is far better
              Milkitaryn is also far better…..

              This guys offers more qualities to the team apart from creating spaces and chances….

              They are mobile, and skillful….

              I can’t wait to see your God Ozil been shipped to Fenerbahce….

              He is living on past glory….
              I will suggest He watch footage of David Silva for like two months, and maybe he might improve both technically and physically…

              David Silva is 33, Ozil is 30
              David Silva is very Skinny but yet he presses, fight battles and challenges for 50:50 balls…

              Dont forget David Silva runs more….
              He earns roughly 180k weekly

              Ozil is stealing a living by earning 350k
              He supposed not to be earning more than 80k weekly

              1. Instead of stats to prove Iwobi is better than Ozil, you have to change it to Ozil Vs Silva, why?

                Couldn’t be because Ozil is better than Iwobi?

                1. No not because Ozil is better, rather it’s picking on someone his own size… you’re quick to call for stats when it’s Iwobi vs Ozil lmao ?….. Iwobi is playing well. He is developing his game. He is pleasing his manager. He is a deserved starter. And yet, apparent supporters are ready to pounce on his every mistake. I am still not sure what more he has to do.

        2. …Iwobi is far more productive than your god Ozil…Iffy my brother let me tell you from one Nigerian to another you my brother have just committed the greatest fallacy in the world of football if you actually believe what you say there. I acknowledge the improvement and impact Iwobi is having in our team right now and he deserves the game time he is getting but if Ozil should retire today Iwobi will never come close to his productiness till retires if he doesn’t improve his decision making.

          1. Everyone going on and on comparing Iwobi with others failed to acknowledge the fact the writer has highlighted in the article that Iwobi is just 22 for christ sake! At the moment the only thing lacking is his decision making in the final third. Everything else he has improved even defending. I for one am confident Iwobi will improve his decision making in the final third as well. Under Emery it’s just a matter of time or he’ll be shipped out.

    2. Who has more attacking qualities at Arsenal now; Laca
      Who gives us more chances of getting into goalscoring situations; Kola
      Who has the ability to beat a man at Arsenal now… Laca

      I do not say this to belittle Iwobi, I say this because I honestly do think Laca is our biggest attacking threat currently and Kola is more of a key passer than Iwobi when it comes to the final ball.

      Iwobi is a good carrier of the ball and I have said that he may actually be better in CM, I like the way he can carry the ball when in between CM and Attack, it is his final ball which frustrates so many… Not his dribbling.

  5. For sure Iwobi is improving. Maybe he is working very hard to improve, and gets the reward. Isn’t that attitude alone worth som positivit? I think so. Good article.

  6. He turns and twist, changing his body position even in the slightest spaces facing the oppositions Goal area…

    He hardly passes back the ball unless if the little spaces is packed full of bodies…

    Since after the World Cup, Nigeria team has been scoring goals for Fun, Iwobi is the reason for that .. i know you will say they are mediocre countries…

    We don’t have quality attacking midfielders, and that is why we hardly create good chances…
    The ones we creates do come from this four guys, Kolsainac Iwobi, Milky Bellerin….

    This four guys are the golden eyes of Emery…

    Emery does not toy with them….

    I wish Emery could just try Iwobi at that central attacking midfield Role soonest…

    Am very sure he won’t dissapoint him…

    Cmon Emery
    please do it

  7. I’m not an Iwobi fan.
    I hope he gets better and proves me, along with others, wrong.
    He has good athletic attributes and he has acted a bit like a ‘headless chicken’, if he can overcome the final ball issue then he can be a very good squad player, I’m no convinced by him yet though.

    He represents us, he wears our badge with pride, I would be over the moon if he proved me wrong and became a great.

  8. When you compare the top teams and what they have at their disposal on the wings
    Man City -sane ,de bruyne ,Mahrez
    Liverpool-mane,Salah,firminho
    Man Utd- Rashford,Sanchez,martial
    Chelsea-hazard (he’s like 3 players into one )
    Arsenal -iwobi ,miki
    Now what team looks the worst at of them ?theres no comparison.thats our weak area and for fans to be calling for him to play every match is just hurting us ,he needs moving on to some other team ,it’s not like he’s young any more 22 is old enough to know he’s not going to get any better ,there’s hundreds of players all over the world that are ahead of him and younger .

    1. It just goes to show the state of our squad. Realistically a 22 y o winger should be an up and coming understudy to a quality experienced pro.. unless he is truely worldclass act like Ronaldo for instance. So in the remit of what we have and the opportunity for improvement i guess we just need to support him as much as possible.

  9. I read elsewhere that Iwobi has returned to training. He was seriously impressive in his last outing and he’s definitely improving, but he was never a starter under Wenger so this is really Iwobi’s first season as a first team player. Another midweek game before a weekend one, it’ll be tough because we have some areas where we really can’t rotate much, believe me, if Iwobi hadn’t of been around this season then I think things would’ve been much worse.

      1. I thought it was just me that thought he wore that ??
        Imagine the face off between him & Klopp.. who has the biggest teeth ?

      1. Simply, you’re frustrated. I sarcastically replied all slating Iwobi while quoting you. Dont play smart man, the main point is you bring it on and trust his countrymen to give you back 10 times more.

        1. Excuse me, bring what on? And for the record, I’m not a man!
          If I wanted to slate Iwobi, I would have… I’m getting sick of this, I try not to comment regarding Iwobi as I know I’ll have to deal with all of this & I really can’t be bothered. Just let the football he plays speak… and speak volumes they do!

              1. Sorry sue, it wasn’t my intention to intefer. I have read lots of threads for a long time and find you well rounded in your assessments. And like I said we all support arsenal, we all have our own opinions so these need to be respected. Best wishes Paul

                1. Hey Paul… I just find some people & comments.on here really hard work!! Like really!!
                  I know everyone has their favourite player (s) but to get your point across you don’t have to be rude, horrible or ram it down someone’s throat!! Jeez!!
                  Loved your comment about your old man doing roly poly’s in the living room – brilliant!!
                  You ought to write on here more often! Thanks for the comment Paul.. much appreciated ?

                  1. Thanks Sue. That is my earliest football memory. Then it was Pearce and waddle and gazzas tears! Massive gooner since then but dad and grandad before that, both London boys. Living in sunny devon now, but made spurs and Huddersfield at home so far this season. Favourite memory though is away at villa as an 11 year old in the Holt end as had gone with family friends who support villa. Game was the week after wrighty got banned from the cup winners cup final. All game he got ian wright where’s your final gone, Ian wright where’s your final gone! 93rd min at the Holt end wrighty scores the winner for 2 v 1 and gives it large to all of the Holt end!! (Think he got banned for it) but amazing. Agree though sue we all have our favourites, but there is no need to be get stupid about it, we are all arsenal it’s not some hys board with lots of trolls. Surely all we all want is success for arsenal

                  2. Haha how good must that have been?! Ian Wright – what a guy, what a legend! Love him!!
                    2 good games you’ve been to this season then… How special was Auba’s goal v spuds?! Some game that was! I hope we have more of that in Saturday!
                    Hopefully we’ll have a good game tonight too! COYG

        2. I don’t understand why you are praising me below and giving sue a hard time. Sue as I have seen is one of the fairer posters on here. I have said what I feel below and that whoever pulls on the shirt, I support and I am sure sue would be the same (sorry sue not meaning to speak for you). However everyone needs to be free to express their opinions without being set upon. I support arsenal and whoever lines up gets my full support iwobi included. Does that mean in my opinion iwobi should start fir arsenal, no not currently I don’t think he is good enough to be in the starting 11. The manager obviously thinks so at times so when on the pitch he gets my backing. However I feel ozil is a better player than iwobi. But as previously stated whoever us on the pitch gets my support. Don’t look fir arguments and support our great (well not quite there currently ) team/club and respect each others opinions. Paul

          1. Ozil is eyes are better than the whole of Iwobi’s body, no doubt. You registered your opinion, void of curses, which is fair enough. Somone said Iwobi trained today, another replied with that ruining his day and the 3rd thumbs them up. Shameful…
            Post more, let them learn from you please.

              1. With someone’s career? From what i’ve read here about you, you shouldn’t be caught in such dirty comments like that. Anyways, that could be on a lighter mood though…

                1. It’s called banter in the UK, it’s not going to have any effect on iwobis career. Nobody intends ill to our players, it’s the British sense of humour (making fun of something ). No one wishes ill on iwobi, it’s liechsteiner we really want crocked!! ( that is a joke, but an example of how us brits talk/communicate). It doesn’t detract from the fact that lots of the fans don’t think he should be starting. I am one of them, however he has some good attributes and is only young, so I hope he succeeds at the club. Please don’t misinterpret “banter ” as people wanting a gooner to be crocked or unavailable, yes we might not want him in the starting 11, but we don’t wish harm or any of our players. Take care and enjoy arsenal winning with or without iwobi or even ozil. As long as we bag the 3 points with chelski playing the spuds and a depleted man u away at palace it could be a prosperous evening for us. Night all

                  1. Dirty comments “
                    You need to get a grip mate ,lighten up .
                    Not all of us think iwobi is special ,we get it you and him are from the same country .
                    Do you see all the English fans bigging up
                    And defending our English players as much as you do with iwobi ?
                    This is a fan forum where I thought you were aloud to express how you feel within the rules ,so I will continue to do that and say how I feel .
                    Iwobi should not and I repeat should not be anywhere near this team and the sooner he’s sold the better .

  10. I see all this talk about iwobi and ozil but this season there is absolutely no debate about whose performing better, iwobi wipes the floor with ozil as do many other players. In term of ability ozil is a largely superior to iwobi but only one has been performing this season. I would prefer iwobi to ozil on the pitch because thats how bad he is today.

    iwobi is an average to above average player with the potential to become a good player IF he improves on his decision-making. ozil is former world class player with an average work rate who has become an average player with low work rate.

    1. Phil did u read this?

      We would be deceiving ourselves if we say we can’t see that Kosceilny is nolonger the defender he used to be
      Same with Licht, Ozil, Mhki… they used to be World Class, now they’re running on almost empty
      Ozil is on the decline, used to be WorldClass

      Our last match Iwobi was behind the only 2 Goals we scored and some are deceiving themselves that they would be glad if he’s injured.

      If he’s injured, Bournemouth will give us a real beating – they are not a goal shy team and our defense is a basket

      Our answer is Iwobi, Laca and Kola

      Put that Auba on the bench till he gets sense

      1. Put that auba on the bench tiil he gets sense “??‍♂️
        Yes just leave one of the leagues top scorers on the bench ,that way maybe iwobi might score 15+ goals in our remaining matches this season ,and we end up 2nd in the league .

    2. Evening guys, I don’t post often, but I always read all of the articles and then the threads. Massive gooner as brought up the right way. So are both my brothers, my dad, his dad and now my son (henry)! So you get the point arsenal through and through. I don’t get to as many games as I would like as now live in Devon as do most of the family, but get up at least a few times a season. I commented to sue the other day and thanks for the response sue. But seriously if you guys think iwobi should be in the team ahead of ozil I am flabbergasted. I respect all of our players and want them to do well for the club we all support and I respect Jon foxs comments when he talks about ozils perceived lack of effort when wearing our great shirt. I acknowledged to sue the other day on one of my rare comments that I don’t think ozil should start away at the spuds and the likelihood is he will go in the summer, as he doesn’t suit emerys vision or style for the club. However I wish to say that in my opinion (we are all entitled to them!) Ozil and iwobi shouldn’t be compared in the same comment and as for stating you feel iwobi is better I strongly disagree. Anyway this is probably why I don’t post often as I waffle and make little sense! But remember we are the arsenal and no matter what our opinions are, we still all spend large parts of our lives hoping for the same thing. Success on the pitch for our club. Best wishes Paul

      1. Civil, matured, neat and exemplary composition, remain blessed man.
        It beats my imagination when fans here are wishing he gets injured so he wouldnt play. Lets forget football now and consider our existence as humans which comes before football, thats pure evil. Arrogant souls, blinded with in-breed supremacism.
        Paul, kindly post more often, your words are soothing.

        1. Thank you, very much appreciated. I understand everyone’s frustrations with the owners. I understand that we all have opinions and express them how we see or feel fit to do so. We all see the beautiful game differently and appreciate different things within it, but whoever pulls on the shirt I support (that included cygan, senderos, luzhny, Jon jensen, Kim bloody kallstrom, Glen helder ) sorry for the older generation but my 1st arsenal memory was Thomas at anfield and the old man doing roly polys through our living room (I was 7 then). But whoever pulls on our shirt I support. Yes they frustrate me and some of them in my opinion aren’t good enough but for the time on the pitch they get my full backing. Please don’t think I don’t want more success and our owners to take an interest and back the manager that is definitely not the case or what I am advocating. Just saying when it comes down to it all that really matters is the way the players conduct themselves and that the mighty arsenal win!!! Sorry have posted more this evening than I have in the 2 years or so I have been reading it daily!!

  11. We will all have to wait until tomorrow’s game as I am sure iwobi will not start. We will then see how much he’s missing against an organized team which actually plays good football. Not expecting Henrick either so this lineup should be very interesting.

  12. A lot of heavy debate on Iwobi here. My take on Iwobi:

    Has he improved under Emery? Yes
    Small or large improvement? Large
    Who is our best winger? Iwobi
    Has he contributed this season? Yes
    Small or large contribution? Large

    There’s no escaping the fact that as the season has gone on, he has become key for us. Miki has been indifferent, Ozil has barely done anything, Ramsey hasn’t done a lot (although has had limited game time), Welbeck was doing well (before the injury), Auba out wide just doesn’t work. In terms of wingers/attacking midfielders, Iwobi is our best option right now. Yes he can appear brain dead in the final third at times, but even then, he’s still causing problems. And he’s really improved on his defensive responsibilities as well.

    I don’t mind admitting when I am wrong, because I was happy to sell him in the summer, but Emery and Iwobi proved me wrong. I still think he needs to improve his end product a lot, but he’s certainly become key for us, and if he can carry on improving, he might start challenging the league’s top wingers/attacking midfielders. Arsenal still need a WC winger in the summer, but the priority would be for the RW.

    1. Thank you a well rounded comment on iwobi as a winger as opoossed to a 10. I agree there has been improvement, bit honestly still don’t feel he has contributed that much. (Just my opinion). He can improve and I hope he does as when on the pitch I fully support him. However in the final third he is dissapointing, his decision making and final ball/shooting is average at best. We all slag off Walcott, and his footballing ability is debatable (akin to sterling again my opinion) but his record when in key areas makes iwobis look terrible and this is theo we are talking about! I am not saying iwobi shouldn’t get game time, but he would rarely be in my starting 11 and he only is on occasions due to the lack of actual wingers we have at the club! With the terrible spends emery is likely to get in the summer Nelson might become a regular feature next year.

      1. You tend to forget that Iwobi isn’t a winger but a CAM who is only filling a position we currently lack due to his versatility. When Iwobi graduated into the first team, he did so as a no10 not a winger

      2. I agree Walcott scored a lot more, which is obviously important, but he’d rarely be involved in the build up or much else. He would either be non existent in so many games, or pop up with the odd goal, whilst still being largely anonymous in that same game. Walcott easily out scored the likes of Pires, Hleb, and Nasri, but would anyone pick him over those three?

        Obviously Iwobi isn’t in the same league as Pires, Hleb, and Nasri in regards to end product, but he’s similar in sense that’s he’s on the ball a lot, and plays a huge role in causing problems, and creating, even if he’s not getting the goals and assists. Whereas Walcott would be there to finish a move off. I would say that’s Walcott’s goals do not justify his general lack of input throughout the entirety of a game, apart from maybe one season, where he did score a lot.

  13. Well said Third Man.Your take on Iwobi is based on the reality not perception.The young lad has a lot to learn and it could well be that he never gains the composure needed in the final third to make it big time. What any true Arsenal fan will recognise however is the effort he puts in for the team cause.He never hides on the pitch and his capacity for hard work is second to none.Time for us all to change the record when it comes to Iwobi and focus on the areas and players who are genuinely deficient.

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