Arsenal: Alex Iwobi finally finding his surprise sweet spot

Arsenal have been toying with where to place Alex Iwobi on the pitch to maximize his effectiveness, and they may have finally found it.

Arsenal have so many moving parts, and many more to come, that it’s chaotic. But it’s an exciting kind of chaotic. The kind where you’re just excited to see what comes out the other end.

Alex Iwobi is one member of that chaos. Ever since he arrived on the first team at the end of the 2015/16 season, there has been an ongoing debate about where to utilize him. The potential is there, clear as day. He has speed, strength, size, and a lot of individual pieces that don’t necessarily make him an easy player to typecast.

He has a nice burst of speed and good creativity, which makes him an adequate winger. He has good vision and solid passing instincts, which make him a credible No. 10. But the problem has been that both of those positions place him close to the goal, where he literally just can’t handle himself.

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He started as a winger, but it was said he would be better centrally at a No. 10. Now, in what seems kind of like a backwards evolution, he is being utilized at the position that many have started to wise up to as his best possible position – central midfield.

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There are certain things that Iwobi has a really good grip on – his quick burst of speed, for instance, or his ability to shimmy around defenders with relative ease, so long as he has space.

And there are other things he is growing into – his stature and strength, and how to use that to protect the ball.

But then there are the things he can’t seem to grasp, like just what the hell to do with the ball when he gets near the box. His final third passing has flashes of brilliance marred by flashes of utter failure. And when it comes to shooting, well, just look at the low-light from Leicester when he did a magic trick and made a ball disappear into the ethos.

There is a fantastic player in Iwobi, and his sweet spot is becoming clearer and clearer – he can be a central midfielder, and he can be a damn good one. It may be surprising, given the positions he has gone through to get there, but now that he is there, and proving it, it’s time to commit to it.

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There was a time when he was the most exciting player on the team. Let’s get back there by letting him take the position he needs to take.