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Alex Iwobi |
Could Alex Iwobi's Nigeria performance serve as the blue print for success at Arsenal?
If there is one thing which has held Alex Iwobi back at Arsenal, it is his erratic end product. Few would deny that he has enormous natural talent but, as for his output, there is serious work to do.
Where the fiery pace of his debut campaign seemed to foreshadow his rapid acceleration as a player, the last few seasons have felt like more of a gentle stroll than an all out Sprint towards his full potential.
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Last season, even as he made a noticeable improvement under Unai Emery, Iwobi had a tendency to metamorphose from a torpedo in the first two thirds of the pitch to a sort of squishy jellyfish man in and around the area. That's, clearly an unfortunate trait for a winger.
For some Arsenal fans, that begs the question; Is Iwobi really a winger?
During his debut season and for sometime afterwards Alex Iwobi was deployed centrally almost as often as he was out wide, mainly just behind the striker as a sort of free-roaming attacking midfielder.
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While his performances in the middle of the park were hit and miss, and continued to be so on the handful of occasions he was played there last season, some have suggested that, in light of Mesut Ozil's struggles, Iwobi should be given another chance through the middle.
He seems to agree, telling Goal earlier this month: "Growing up I've been playing as an attacking midfielder, more central in the midfield. I wouldn't say if I'm most comfortable there but that's where I grew up playing.... I've always seen myself as a midfielder."
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Positional liberation
Alex Iwobi header pic
Iwobi was highly influential in Nigeria’s 2-1 win against South Africa (Getty Images)
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr certainly seems to be getting the best out of Alex Iwobi in the centre of the pitch. Of the Super Eagles' five games of the Africa Cup of Nations so far, Iwobi has started three in the attacking midfield behind Odion Ighalo, slotted in centrally as a substitute against Madagascar and featured out wide only once, in Nigeria's opener against Burundi.
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Alex Iwobi seems to feeling the benefits, playing in a free role with scope to roam forward or drop off to link the forward line and midfield. Having scored the winner Against Cameroon in the last 16, rushing through the centre to latch onto a neat ball from Ighalo before stroking home an uncharacteristically cool finish, Iwobi gave in Cairo on Wednesday evening.
Despite the best efforts of Ahmed Musa to squander the vast majority of the chances that he created, Iwobi was deployed almost as a playmaker and, for anyone who has watched him at Arsenal at least, surprisingly effective.
Far from looking erratic in the final third, Iwobi ferried the ball forward well while sweeping passes down the left and right flanks as he tried to use the natural pace of Musa and Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze.
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For Chukwueze's opener, Iwobi showed masterful skill to drag the ball past Thamsanqa Mkhize, flame the south Africa full-back for pace and leave him in the dust as he dragged the ball back across the box.
While Chukwueze's First effort was blocked by Buhle Mkhwanazi, he kept running as if charging through a brick wall, collected up the rebound and slotted into the back of the net.
It should have been Iwobi's first assist of the tournament; Only denied by Mkhwanazi's outstretched leg and he could have had more were it not for wasteful finishing from his teammates.
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He almost had a goal of his own in the second half when he rushed in behind the South Africa defence and smashed just wide of the upright, though in the end Nigeria required a header from defender William Troost-Ekong at a corner to cancel out Bongani Zungu's equaliser and win the game at the death.
Nonetheless, it was a mature performance from Iwobi of the sort which has rarely been seen back at Arsenal. While many have ridiculed the idea that he might be used as a central midfielder, there were moments against South Africa in which it didn't look all that far-fetched.
Emery ought to be following Iwobi's progress at the Africa Cup of Nations and this may give him food for thought ahead of the new season.
With Ozil in non-existent form for much of his tenure to date, it's possible that Emery will decide that he has nothing to lose.
Arsenal seem unlikely to receive significant reinforcements in central midfield given their limited budget and the urgent need to recruit new defenders. Perhaps Emery will decide that Iwobi should play through the middle after all. If he does, Iwobi should take it as a now-or-never opportunity.
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