Arsenal: Alex Iwobi has chance to re-establish excitement

Alex Iwobi is gearing up for his first World Cup with the Nigerian national side, a team that he is at the heart of. The Arsenal midfield can re-establish the excitement with his career.

Alex Iwobi was a blisteringly exciting player when he burst onto the scene against Barcelona, and in the proceeding weeks of the remainder of the 2015/16 season, two years ago. His pace, his quality on the ball, his directness, his intelligence. Arsenal had another starlet to get behind.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

But since that time, his performances have diminished somewhat, though that may be an indictment on his management as much as Iwobi himself, his confidence has cracked, and he has since slipped into a scapegoat for large factions of the fan base. The excitement has waned.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

That, though, is not so true for his national team manager, Salisu Yusuf. Speaking after a recent friendly loss to Serbia in which Iwobi was one of the more impressive players on the pitch, according to James Benge of the London Evening Standard, Yusuf was clearly enamoured with Iwobi’s performance and overall influence on his Nigeria side:

"“With us all the time he’s very good, already in Poland [where Nigeria won 1-0] and he was fantastic tonight. Perhaps sometimes [he did] a little too much individually, he wanted to make a show. We prefer collective football. But when he can eliminate his opponent it’s very good [for us]. He’s with us all the time in confidence. He’s free when he has the ball.”"

The excitement is difficult to hide. And now, as the World Cup enters the forefront of our minds — it starts in less than two weeks. I, like Yusuf with Iwobi, am extremely excited –, Iwobi has the perfect chance to again re-assert himself as of the most heart-fluttering young prospects in the game.

He is expected to start on Saturday against England — Note: This piece is being written on Saturday morning but will be published after the match — in a pre-World-Cup international friendly. He will, most likely, be fielded in his most preferred central attacking midfield role that he flourishes in, the primary creator of the team, the attacking fulcrum of the whole side.

Iwobi is set to be a key player for an exciting Nigeria team. The Super Eagles will be asking a lot him. With that responsibility and power comes great opportunity. Iwobi has a rare chance to get away from the snares of the regularity of domestic football and bloom in the rarety and speciality of a World Cup.

Next: Arsenal: Player ratings from 2017/18 season

If he can take that chance, then he will return to north London amid a cloud of expectation, hope, and, most importantly, fervour, buzz, anticipation. He has the opportunity to re-birth that same excitement that rippled through the fans when he first burst onto the scene.