After his great performance in Arsenal’s Europa League fixture against Vorskla Poltava which they won 4:2 at the Emirates Stadium, the Super Eagles striker Alex Iwobi was praised by his teammate Laurent Koscielny who is currently recovering from injury. He was also given a good player rating in the Gunners win against Everton this weekend, even though he only played for 20 or so minutes coming on for Aubemayang after the second goal.
Many game pundits and fans thought Alex Iwobi didn’t improve last season scoring only three goals in 39 appearances. Arsene Wenger didn’t favor him towards the end of his Arsenal career. But then, new manager Unai Emery came in and it seems to have revitalized Iwobi. Indeed, Emery has secured Iwobi’s services long term when, back in August this year, he signed a new five-year contract which will keep him in London until 2023. The Nigerian star celebrated the new contract by scoring a goal in a defeat to Chelsea.
Alex Iwobi (www.arsenal.com)
Laurent Koscielny noticed the change in Alex Iwobi and feels that the new coach, Emery, has a lot to do with it. He thinks that Emery has lifted Iwobi’s self-confidence this season. Koscielny feels that Iwobi has to realize how good a player he is and how much he can still improve. The Arsenal captain has praised his team mate’s work ethic, saying that he works hard in training and listens to advice.
On Thursday, Alex Iwobi was in the starting eleven for Arsenal and had received good feedback for his performance. Some even thought he was the man of the match. After that match and in an interview before this weekend’s encounter with Everton, Koscielny has emphasized his good performances this season and talked about his four best qualities and areas for improvement. He said that Alex is strong, he moves well with or without the ball, he is quick and technically sound. He also said that he needs to improve his efficiency in front of goal, assisting and scoring.
Alex Iwobi, at just 22 years of age, has a lot of potential. He’s been with Arsenal since Primary School and made the senior squad in 2015. Since then, he has appeared in 102 games in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and assisting in twenty. He won the FA Cup with them in 2017. He has also recorded 21 appearances for the Super Eagles, scoring five goals so far for Nigeria. In 2016 he was given the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Young Player of the year award and was voted in the CAF Team of the year in the same period.