Arsenal: Selling Alex Iwobi has one huge determining factor

Arsenal are yet again being encouraged to sell Alex Iwob this summer, but the determining factor is exactly what it has always been.

It’s safe to say that Alex Iwobi still isn’t the player that Arsenal wanted him to be when they set him lose on the Premier League in 2016 as an up-and-coming teenager. He had such a unique ability to play directly while still nestling enough creativity in his play to be a serious threat to goal every time he touched the ball.

It’s been a steady up and down ever since, but no matter if we’re on the up or the down for that particular streak, he seems to always end up having made very little overarching progress towards being a bonafide Premier League player.

This year has been more of the same. He’s got four goals and six assists in all competitions this season, and that’s not awful, but it’s also not what we need. Not with so many other creative players falling flat on their faces, unable to fill the void.

Iwobi has had yet another premium chance to establish himself and he hasn’t taken it. He’s still a valuable player, and I do still think that the potential is there to be something even more, if Unai Emery wants to stick with him.

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But I also understand the impetus to sell. While I don’t often entertain anything Charlie Nicholas says, he has encouraged the Gunners to part ways with Iwobi and it’s a thought I’ve had many times before as well. And it’s a notion that should definitely be considered, but the big, defining factor is price.

If you’re going to sell a young player with the potential that Iwobi has, you want to sell him for a price that you can call a success. Selling Iwobi for a measly £15m is a waste. Might as well keep him around for that much, he’s still got that upside after all.

If you double that though? Well, now we’re talking. For £30m, even the £25m he was originally linked to, the Gunners can go find a new teenager with as much potential as Iwobi and less lost time trying to realize that potential.

That’s all this comes down to. I don’t think you actively hock Iwobi to any and all interested parties, but if you can score a decent sized transfer fee that can be reinvested in better ways? Then go for it.