Arsenal: I’ll say it again, play Alex Iwobi centrally

Alex Iwobi flourished in a central position for Nigeria on Wednesday night. The Arsenal midfielder, while frustrating out wide, has potential through the middle.

Different positions require different skill sets. A centre-half needs to be a strong tackler, excellent in the air, a good organiser and communicator, perfectly positioned at all times with superb reading of the game and sense of danger; a striker, on the other hand, must be sharp, creative, clinical in front of goal and comfortable with the ball at their feet with their back to goal.

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It is futile to expect a natural winger to play in central midfield, like it would be equally as foolish to expect a defender to play up front. The unique roles and responsibilities that each position present demand particular players to fill them.

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Last season, Unai Emery largely used  Alex Iwobi as a winger in the Arsenal set-up — there was good reason for this given the limited alternative options. He has played in a wide attacking role for many years, which is a position that he can perform in thanks to his acceleration, dribbling ability, and overall game intelligence and spatial awareness. But his all-round skill set is much better suited to a central — and deeper — role, not a wide one.

Iwobi’s greatest ability is the calmness and composure of his play in possession, especially when he receives the ball under pressure. He is deceptively strong, able to hold off defenders as a result, and he has a phenomenal first touch to manipulate the ball into spaces that only he can reach before an oncoming challenge. This is obviously a skill that is useful in wide areas, but it would be far more beneficial to benefit from exceptional delivery and creative end product, which Iwobi infamously lacks.

In central areas, however, especially a play-progressing, possession-conducting box-to-box midfielder, this ability to receive the ball under pressure, turn away from a defender and shuttle it into more advanced areas of the pitch, is invaluable. Consider the likes of Moussa Dembele and Georginio Wijnaldum who have been critical to Spurs and Liverpool in recent years.

And playing in this position for Nigeria in this summer’s African Cup of Nations, Iwobi has flourished. He was superb in the Super Eagles’ quarter-final win over South Africa. He scored the winning goal over Cameroon, bursting through the middle and sliding a shot under the goalkeeper with a first-time finish.

Iwobi’s restrictions in the final third have consistently come to roost. He may have the technical quality to produce goals and assists, as proven by a flashing volley in the Europa League final, but he panics in and around the penalty area, not thinking clearly and failing to make decisive, purposeful runs and movements. In a deeper position, these shortcomings become less prominent. The skill set required shifts more towards what Iwobi is capable of.

Iwobi is a far more capable player than many would have you believe. But he is still not being used in his best-suited roles. Until that time comes, until he is played centrally and slightly deeper, he will never unlock his true potential, whatever that may be.