Arsenal: Thomas Lemar unaffected by anything Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi has looked particularly inspired this preseason, but does that really change anything in the Thomas Lemar pursuit? Absolutely not.

Arsenal’s preseason has been spotless thus far, with three straight wins, even against the dreaded Bayern Munich. And while new signings like Alexandre Lacazette and youngsters like Reiss Nelson have taken up most of the spotlight, Alex Iwobi is having a quiet go of being the early favorite for preseason MVP.

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The young Nigerian set up Lacazette’s first ever Arsenal goal as well as winning back the ball and starting the move that would lead to his own last second equalizer against Bayern Munich. And of course, that turned into the penalties winner.

It got to the point where there was a bit of an idea generating on Twitter that Iwobi is what Thomas Lemar would be and, as such, the latter can be forgotten about. Even if said in jest, I just want to say that nothing that Iwobi does is going to effect the need for Lemar.

And that has nothing to do with the quality of Iwobi. We all know how talented he is and we all know that he plays the same position, in a similar fashion, as Lemar. But that does not mean that Iwobi’s resurgence eliminates the need for Lemar.

Simply put, that would be the old school of thought. The thought that one is enough. Ask Olivier Giroud how that worked out. It submitted him to four years of unappreciated play that has culminated in him just now getting respect because the pressure isn’t all on him.

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Iwobi was in a situation last year that I hated. Arsene Wenger was dragging the young Nigerian through the mud by leaving him in the starting XI through thick and thin. He looked downright pathetic at times and nothing was being done about it. He would go right back out there the next match day and fail again.

You never want to see a player put in a position like that. Where they keep failing and there aren’t consequences.

In the situation with Giroud, it was a matter of one position. That was solved when Alexis Sanchez took the position as well as when Lacazette arrived.

With Alexis looking like a short-term ordeal, that means that going forward, we have just Mesut Ozil and Iwobi at the two attacking midfield positions, barring a Jack Wilshere resurgence.

Thomas Lemar is absolutely positively need to augment that. Even if Iwobi becomes a stone-cold stunner at the position, Lemar will still be needed. No questions asked.

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Plus, Lemar is one of those exceptional talents that you just have to have.