Arsenal: Alex Iwobi’s stock higher than it’s ever been before

Arsenal are seeing the best of Alex Iwobi again and it feels amazing. Are things finally turning around for this once-destitute young man?

When Alex Iwobi first broke through for Arsenal over two years ago, I was actually kind of livid that he so unfairly replaced Joel Campbell, who I thought had earned the role. But Iwobi made it perfectly clear that he had earned the role, because he was different.

Different than the others attackers we had, different than the erratic (and therefore exciting) Campbell, and different from, literally, all the others. It was his size, strength, and direct style of play that made him really special, not to mention just how young he was.

I don’t want to revisit the two years between then and now, but needless to say, it got to the point where I counted him as a lost cause. I didn’t get excited about him anymore and I wanted him sold while he still had value. And I wasn’t alone.

When Arsene Wenger left, the protective shield that kept Iwobi relevant in the first team in spite of his failures left with him, and Iwobi’s reaction was going to speak volumes to his character and his talent.

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Well, in case you haven’t been paying attention, he has reasserted himself in a big way. More specifically, in one big way – through his confidence.

I don’t know about you, but I have never been more excited for Alex Iwobi. His stock has risen massively and it’s even higher than where it was when he first broke through because he’s past that initial doubt phase that all youngsters go through.

Breaking into the team for a youngster isn’t all that rare, but hanging around, and staying in the starting XI spectrum, that’s something else entirely, and that is what Iwobi is in the process of doing. He’s back into the bigger picture stuff, he’s looking better than he ever has, and I count him as one of the players I am most excited to see any time he takes the pitch.

And to think, all that had to happen was a little shake-up. A little breaking up of the comfort zone.

If everything goes accordingly, Iwobi can be governing this attack for years to come, ideally starting at some point this year, when the overpaid divas are on their way out. It’s pretty cool thing when you can get younger and better.