Arsenal: Alex Iwobi may benefit most from Arsene Wenger departure

Arsenal had a team full of star performers against Burnley, but what Alex Iwobi did was particularly special, given his circumstances.

It’s fair to say that no Arsenal man has been more disappointing these past two years than Alex Iwobi. After bursting onto the scene, he proceeded to sputter into a struggling starter, then was dropped, at one point all the way to the U23s, and has yet to make his way back into the starting XI picture.

It’s been a heaping of frustration as no one can seem to grasp how best to utilize him and, now that he is 22, the time is getting kind of nigh. Iwobi’s final ball continues to lack any sort of threat and that can be a problem for an attacking player.

Which is why, despite all the massive performances against Burnley, nobody’s performance meant more to both himself and to the fans than Alex Iwobi’s.

This was the best we had seen Iwobi in two whole years. After his initial ‘final ball’ looked like failed Iwobi and sputtered to no one, he proceeded to drop a masterful performance that saw him showcasing all of his talents and even capitalizing on the skills he is criticized for not having.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

His ability to drive from deep is known. It’s the one positive that we’ve been able to glean from his performances this year. When he gets on the ball, he can shimmy away from defenders with the best of them.

But when he gets into the box, things change. Only against Burnley, they didn’t.

As if Iwobi knew that he had to prove something, with Arsene Wenger leaving, he was clinical in the box. Both of the first two goals began with an astute Iwobi pass in the final third that led immediately to an assist and a goal.

And his goal? That was the cream of the crop. Yes, he was given all the time and space he could ever hope for, but he has scuffed many such opportunities before. Had he fluffed it over the bar and into the 14th row, we’d have shrugged and thought “yep, that’s Iwobi.”

But he didn’t. He planted it into the top corner like this was the regular thing to do.

Next: Arsenal vs Burnley Highlights, Recap and Analysis

Iwobi was a menace out there, and maybe, just maybe, Wenger’s exit will awaken in him the determination to prove himself to the world, rather than to just one man.