Arsenal: I will probably never understand Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi did a lot of things against Burnley, and it just reminded me that I will literally never understand this man or his Arsenal trajectory.

Here’s a fun fact that I’m not particularly proud of: When the Arsenal starting XI was announced, I wrote down my first post-match article idea, titled “Joe Willock is so clearly ahead of Alex Iwobi.” I wasn’t being negative, I’m just tired of the ups and downs and realizing that he really isn’t progressing the way we need him to.

For the first half-hour or so, I felt like my intuition had landed true. But then things started to change. The more Iwobi determined to get Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the ball, the more he seemed to settle into the match.

Maybe, that knowledge, that knowing what he was going to do with the ball, allowed him to get comfortable in the match and really understand what he was out there to do. He didn’t look jumpy or jittery and he didn’t look like he was in a constant state of conflicting opinions.

He looked like he belonged. He looked strong, intelligent, creative. His assist to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was perfect, he got credit for the second assist as well, and he created three more chances aside from that.

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He was the creative force we’ve been asking him to be all season. Add this to the match he created seven chances all on his own and you might see the portrait of a young man with so much talent who can change the face of a match or, in time, of a club.

But where is this Iwobi hiding most of the time? Where do those jitters come from? Do they come from pressure? From trying to do too much.

I say again that from the moment he started to take Aubameyang’s potential hat trick as a personal objective, it was like all of the questions he is constantly asking himself were answered.

I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing, if this is the case. You want him to be able to handle multiple decision points and not just be focused on feeding one guy, but maybe it’s a starting point. Maybe this is something that can be built on as he seeks to improve.

Or maybe this is just another up hidden on his constant trajectory of ups, downs and everything in between.