Arsenal Vs West Brom: 5 things we learned – Mesut Ozil: Where art thou?

3. What has happened to Alex Iwobi?

Alex Iwobi burst onto the scene a little under two years ago. He was a vibrant, vivacious, striding attacker, with a real youthful enthusiasm that was as much refreshing as it was potent. He played with a freedom and energy that was infectious. He scored goals, created chances, caused problems. What the hell has happened?

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Last season, Iwobi suffered a crisis of confidence. He retreated into his shell, unwilling to take the attacking risks that are needed to create and engineer, he lacked the same bravery on the ball, and his head dropped as a result. This season, especially recently, he has just been downright bad.

Against West Brom, his end product was typically awful. He missed chances, his passing was wayward, his decision-making was very poor. That, though, is not all that surprising. What was a little more unexpected, and detrimental, was the stupidity of his positioning.

Iwobi flourishes when he has the license to drift throughout the pitch, finding pockets of space in between the opposing midfield and defence. But that license must come with an element of discipline. That discipline must lead him to provide width. Against West Brom, it was painfully absent. Arsenal’s attacks were narrow and blunt. They did not stretch the Baggies. Iwobi was a large reason why.

I cannot see why he is ahead of Danny Welbeck or Theo Walcott. Both have shown more than the Nigerian this season. It’s time for him to be dropped. Hopefully, it will reinvigorate his prior form.