Arsenal: Alex Iwobi Taking Future By The Horns
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal have been letting the hungry, young players play. It led to a win. Credit those hungry young players, namely Alex Iwobi, who has his future in his hands.
Arsene Wenger has done something pretty cool for Arsenal. He is letting the future of Arsenal play. Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck and Mohamed Elneny have all become fixtures in the everyday starting lineup. Obviously the most important one to watch of that group is Iwobi.
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Just 19 years old, Iwobi has gone from the cameo master to a starting attacker. A lot of that comes down to everyone crumbling around him, but he wouldn’t have stuck if he didn’t deserve it. Not in Arsene Wenger’s system. To pass up Theo Walcott requires more than just earning it, you have to seriously prove yourself on a match by match basis.
Iwobi looked shaky but it was incredibly apparent that the more game time he saw, the better he got. His FA Cup appearances began with shaky boots, but come Everton, his composure was that of a true professional.
Everton was, however, a strange game for Iwobi. His goal was very well taken and required enormous composure. But then again, he had another chance earlier in the game where he tried the same thing and it didn’t come off quite as well. He also had a bit of trouble establishing himself around that one play.
Against Barcelona, it was a different story. Iwobi looked up to the challenge to face the best team in the world. He didn’t necessarily produce much, but he was not a liability.
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This is all a learning experience for Iwobi. A lot of credit goes to Arsene Wenger. We know he doesn’t like change and he has changed a lot in his team to sit down the overpaid Theo Walcott and the frustrated Olivier Giroud in favor of Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi,
That faith is not lost on Iwobi and he will repay it. If his progress is any indication of what we have to look forward to, he could very well establish himself as a favorite by the end of the season. Not only that, but he is going to have a big part to play on any potential title run that Arsenal can muster.
Next: Theo Walcott The Symbol Of Dead Era
It was his first Premier League start. As a debut, you’ll find few better than Joel Campbell’s debut. Hopefully it doesn’t end up the same way.