Arsenal: Alex Iwobi Has Most To Prove Against Watford
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s first team will be scrutinized after seeing the second team run rampant over Southampton. And it’s Alex Iwobi with the most to prove.
I have been writing a lot this week about the pressure that the squad used against Southampton put on the first team. Arsenal’s depth was on full display and finally, we are seeing a massive bout of internal competition that will only mean good things.
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Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey have a ton to prove. I highlighted them as the two who had the most pressure put on them, given the fantastic outputs of Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against the Saints.
But I may have overlooked the position of Alex Iwobi, who most likely has the most to lose and is the most likely to lose it.
Iwobi has been off and on this year, but lately he has been on. He was fantastic in recent outings and has proven that his development is still continuing in that promising direction.
Yet, when you look at this offense, it’s him that stands in the way of Theo Walcott. Unless Wenger opts to move out Giroud and put Alexis back up front, but that seems highly unlikely. It is more likely that he swaps Giroud and Welbeck and runs with a front three of Alexis-Welbeck-Walcott.
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Which, even from someone like me who lacks faith in Walcott, is pretty damn exciting. And for as much as I like Iwobi, if the arguments against Ramsey and Giroud are that they slow things down, then I have to say the same of Iwobi. His style hasn’t been proven to be that effective with a high-flying attack.
Which is exactly what the Gunners would become with that AWW attack (Aww… I like it!).
Plus, Giroud and Ramsey are both Wenger favorites. Iwobi is too, but he has not been a favorite for as long. So taking this purely as a popularity contest, I also see Iwobi being the first to give way. Ramsey would be the next closest, but the competitor I speak of is the Ox and Wenger has always been hesitant to put the Ox in the center.
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So we fall back to Iwobi. The man in the way of Walcott’s prolonged stay in the XI. I have to say, seeing him in perfect positions to put away Alexis’s two passes, as well as Welbeck’s, was inspiring. It looked like the Walcott that started the season so strong.