Arsenal: Alex Iwobi getting simultaneously better and worse

Arsenal would love to see Alex Iwob pan out, but it’s hard to get a beat on a player who is getting better and worse simultaneously.

After Alex Iwobi‘s performance against Huddersfield, I wrote the headline “Alex Iwobi does, and Alex Iwobi doesn’t,” and I feel like that encapsulates his time at Arsenal. He does so many wonderful things and he doesn’t do so many wonderful things.

He makes strides to improve in some areas while regressing in other areas. And if you look at the numbers from this year and compare them to years past, you see a smattering of improvements mixed in with a variety of digressions.

Which makes it really hard to judge him. He is, at the most basic level, a creative midfielder with the ability to play on the wings. Meaning there are some things we should be expecting from him – creating chances that translate into assists, scoring goals and dribbling.

That has seemed to be the direct path that he has been on since arriving on the first team set in 2016.

Right off the top, you can see he has improved in his goal production. At least thus far. He has three goals and four assists this year, which is on pace to beat his previous best, last year, when he managed three goals and five assists. It’s still a far cry from the 10 goal, 10 assist guy that he has often projected to be, but there’s still a ways to go in the season.

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Underneath the goal production is where you start to see the problem, though. The lack of improvement.

For starters, perhaps we need to come to terms with the fact that, despite the constant step-overs and jukes, he just isn’t a good dribbler. He is completing right about the same amount of dribbles this year (1.5) as he did last year (1.4). Yes, that is technically an improvement, but he’s also losing the ball 4.0 times a match this year compared to 2.8 last year.

Not exactly what you want to see. If he’s losing the ball more, you have to see him completing his moves more as well.

Which is the same thing with chance creation – is it really something he does? Because it’s been several years now and he has yet to complete a season averaging even 1.5 chances created per match. In fact, after showing steady improvement from the moment he broke in to the first team, creating 0.9 chances per match, he gradually improved – 1.0, then 1.4. But this year he is back to 0.9 and his pass completion is the lowest it’s been in his career – over 10% lower than last year.

Now, again, maybe that means he is taking more chances. But if that’s the case, then he needs to show more reward for the risk and he isn’t.

Obviously goals and assist are the end goal, but even then, the progression has been a slow burner for a player with the resources that Iwobi has. Maybe this is all part of the process, but I’d love to see more actual progress this year than what we’ve been seeing.