Arsenal: Has Alex Iwobi earned a start against Cardiff City?

When you look at Arsenal’s wealth of creative attacking options, Alex Iwobi is not at the top. That said, has he earned more than the rest?

Arsenal fans were more than a bit aghast when Alex Iwobi’s name appeared on the starting XI against Chelsea. His name prevented both Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette from being included and that was grounds for immediate outrage.

It didn’t have a chance to last long, though. While Iwobi didn’t end up playing the whole game, for the time that he did have, he actually spent it quite well. Not only did he score that crucial goal that helped the Gunners get level (before inevitably losing) but he was also just a positive influence on the match as a whole.

He was rewarded by being handed another start against West Ham. Rewarded, as in “Ozil has that mystery illness again.”

By my estimations, it sounds like Mesut Ozil was going to be moved into a wide position to flank Ramsey as the No. 10. This might even be where the mystery illness sprouted from, a lack of desire to play anything other than a No. 10. But I digress.

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Whatever the case, Iwobi was given more time in the starting XI and, sure enough, he played well. He wasn’t a magic man out there, but in his capacity, he had a much more positive impact on proceedings than he did negative.

As such, with Cardiff City up next, I actually considered whether or not Iwobi had earned a third consecutive start, which would leave either Ozil or Ramsey on the bench.

Unai Emery clearly believes in the young Nigerian. Same as Arsene Wenger did. Same as all of us fans did (and hopefully still do). He has so much talent that he just can’t seem to pull all the way in and harness.

But with the “elderly” state of this attacking midfield, the sooner the club can get younger without sacrificing anything, the better.

I’d be inclined to make the argument that Iwobi has been better than both Ozil and Mkhitaryan, neither of whom has seen much of their best form, if they’ve even seen any of it. By the standards that Emery is setting, that seems to mean that Iwobi could indeed be in line for a start or, if not, an early substitution when one or the other creative attackers inevitably goes awry.

Maybe this faith can finally get Iwobi over those final obstacles. Or maybe we’re just beating our heads against the proverbial wall. Exposure will help us find out, regardless.