Eagles: My best yet to come – Iwobi

Arsenal’s dazzling winger and Super Eagles dare-devil striker, Alex Iwobi, has revealed that his best is yet to come, following his recent surge of form for Nigeria. Recently, he also confirmed how former Super Eagles captain and uncle, Austin Okocha, saved his football career and admitted that he experienced very difficult times in the past, before Okocha helped him find his feet.
The Hale End Academy product feared he was surplus to requirements at the London club before manager, Arsene Wenger, handed him his debut against Sheffield Wednesday on October 27, 2015.
‘’Growing up as a kid, there were times when I thought I was going to get released,’’ Iwobi said.
‘’But my mum and dad were always there to help. I have had some difficult times and, without my family and my uncle, Austin Okocha, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
‘’Considering the difficult path that I have had, my Arsenal career has been amazing. I’m on a good way. However, I’m still young and I have got a long way to go.’’
Iwobi was the standout performer in Nigeria’s 4-2 thrashing of two-time world champions, Argentina, in an international friendly on Tuesday, November 14.
Speaking further, Iwobi said that his family played a key role in his decision to represent the senior national team of Nigeria rather than England at international level.
He had caps for England U16, U17 and U18 teams before he became cap-tied to the three-time African champions in March 2016, having made his non-competitive debut against Democratic Republic of Congo in October 2015.
‘’I was growing up in England and England was the only national team I knew, so I was actually very pleased to play at national level,” Iwobi stated.
“However, my family are all from Nigeria, I was born in Nigeria, my uncle (Jay-Jay Okocha) is a legend in Nigeria.
“That’s why I thought I would give it a chance. That’s why I went to the U23s and somehow felt more welcome, and I thought it’s where I belong, so I made the decision to switch.”
Iwobi netted his third and fourth goals for the Super Eagles in their come from behind 4-2 win over Argentina in Krasnodar last Tuesday.
A peep into history shows that Iwobi joined Arsenal while still at primary school and was first involved in a first-team match as an unused substitute in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on September 25, 2013. He later signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal in October 2015.
On October 27, 2015, Iwobi made his first-team debut for the club, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the League Cup. He made his Premier League debut four days later in a 3–0 win against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, as a stoppage time substitute for Mesut Özil.
Iwobi made his Champions League debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5–1 defeat against Bayern Munich and started in the first team for the 2015–16 FA Cup 3rd and 4th round home wins against Sunderland and Burnley respectively.
After getting a first Champions League start in a 3–1 away defeat to Barcelona, Iwobi went on to score two goals in his first two Premier League starts in wins against Everton and Watford, respectively.
In the following season Iwobi changed his squad number from 45 to 17. This was due to Chilean forward Alexis Sánchez taking up the newly vacated number 7 from the departing Tomáš Rosický.
Iwobi went on to feature throughout Arsenal’s victorious FA Cup campaign of 2016–17. As so he earned a winners medal as being part of the squad that beat Chelsea by 2 goals to 1 in the final of such. He achieved further success with Arsenal in the 2017 Community Shield, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea on penalties.
He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics and was not a part of the 18-man final squad.
In August 2017 Iwobi pulled out of Nigeria’s squad for that month’s World Cup qualifiers due to injury. On October 7, 2017, Iwobi scored for Nigeria in a 1-0 win over Zambia to secure the Super Eagles a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.