Arsenal: Alex Iwobi “solution” has solved others before him

Arsenal need to solve the Alex Iwobi conundrum, and a positive track record from another Gunner gives us a clear picture of what needs to happen.

Arsenal have a special talent in Alex Iwobi, but honestly, he’s all over the place. He has a bunch of unique abilities that he can’t seem to wrap his head around and his confidence is like a deflated balloon. There needs to be a solution.

I have explored a bunch of different ideas regarding a solution, mostly – from a selfish standpoint – because I hate being annoyed by Iwobi. I want to be excited by him again, like when people were touting him and Marcus Rashford as the two best young talents in England.

He’s 21 years old now, so there’s time to recover, but something has to be done. Thankfully, the best possible solution has worked wonders before, and quite recently.

You have to loan him. And I mean have to. He can’t stay here at the club next season barring something drastic as the season winds down. He just hasn’t been good and that’s been the case for two long years, despite countless opportunities to fit in.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

He needs a new perspective, to step out of his comfort zone, and perhaps even to have the pressure taken off him a bit, because I can’t help but feel that he’s just a nervous wreck when tasked with making a positive impact at Arsenal.

I mentioned this working before. Look at Calum Chambers. Chambers was sent out on loan after he and Rob Holding were eviscerated by Liverpool in the opening match of last season. He was sent to Middlesbrough in what many saw as a do-or-die scenario. Either shape up or you won’t have a place at Arsenal.

Chambers did shape up. he was fantastic with Boro on a sneakily good defense, despite getting relegated. And now he’s a changed man. He is more capable of harnessing what makes him good and far less prone to what makes him poor.

Iwobi needs that exact same solution. He needs to be sent to a lower-to-mid-table team to find his footing again. Of course, the task is finding a good loan home, because as we saw with Serge Gnabry, it isn’t that easy.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Stoke City

That said, I don’t see any way around it. If you’re serious about getting this club back on track, you can’t waste a spot on Iwobi, as cruel as that sounds. And this summer’s transfer business should prove this point even moreso, as I’d be massively surprised if they didn’t make enough signings to bump Iwobi even further out of the spectrum.