Arsenal: Alex Iwobi should take Thomas Lemar pursuit personally

Arsenal’s pursuit of Thomas Lemar has been heralded by everyone as a fantastic idea, but if anyone should take it as an insult, it is Alex Iwobi.

Two years ago, when Alex Iwobi made his Arsenal debut, he rocketed up the charts of not just their team sheet, but the list of the best young players in the footballing world. He was such a unique talent because of his combination of strength and intelligence with more than his fair share of speed.

And with mentors like Mesut Ozil to cultivate his creativity and Alexis Sanchez to see to his effort and footwork, well, there weren’t many ways it could go wrong.

But it did. With a solid half-season behind him, Iwobi went into the 2016/17 season with the world on a silver platter and he nabbed three assists very early on. And then it collapsed and after far too many opportunities, he was finally benched.

No one needs a rejuvenating season quite like the young Nigerian. Which is why he should be perhaps the only Arsenal-related person in the world looking at this Thomas Lemar speculation with a hint of trepidation, if not irritation.

You see, between Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, there isn’t a lot of game time to go around behind them at those attacking midfield positions. Not for anyone, not even Thomas Lemar. But with both of their contracts pushing towards the end, we don’t know what the future holds. However, Iwobi was surely hoping that he would be the heir apparent to one of those positions (likely the Alexis one as he is more likely to leave).

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That is going to be tough to do if Thomas Lemar is there. Lemar is just as young and just as creative and he will have a massive price tag attached to him, something Iwobi doesn’t have. He will be competing against a huge signing on talent alone.

This is how superstars are made. Through competition and signings like this, they either maximize their own abilities and rise to the occasion or they fade away and end up at a mid-table club with memories of when they could have risen to the occasion, but failed.

If Iwobi sees this Lemar pursuit as a direct result of his inability to clamp onto a position, then his mind is in the right place and he can start growing and maturing and improving. And then, when (not if) that happens, we have even less cause to be concerned about the potential departure of Alexis and Ozil.

Next: Arsenal's Predicted FIFA 18 Player Ratings

This is what that internal competition is all about. There is power in pressure.

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