Arsenal: Alex Iwobi Laying Foundation For Quiet Stardom
Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi was a positive influence against PSG, but he isn’t being talked about. Is this the stardom he has in store?
Arsenal’s draw against PSG had a ton of talking points. Olivier Giroud was such a pivotal impact on the match before being sent off after a bit of trickery by PSG. David Ospina became the Colombian superman in his bid to keep Arsenal in the match, which he accomplished in every sense of the word. Alexis’s shift from center forward to left wing changed the game completely.
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But what of Alex Iwobi?
The young Nigerian played the entire 90 minutes and had a hefty impact on the game, yet he is seemingly forgotten. I’ll admit, it took up until me reading his interview on Arsenal.com to remember that he could have won us the game.
I’m not mad though. He’s 20 and he put it on net. That’s more than most can say. Sure, he should have scored, but that’s the risk you take starting inexperienced players. Yet, you can hardly even blame it on inexperience, because the inexperienced Iwobi would have skied it off target.
Iwobi has become a bit of an experienced 20 year old and, in the process, laid the foundation for a very quiet stardom ahead of him.
Look a the numbers from PSG. They aren’t going to pop, but they won’t strike you as a 20 year old, inexperienced prospect either. Such is the way he plays. Iwobi completed nearly 90% of his passes and only lost possession three times, which is actually above his average, yet still on the lower side of the spectrum when compared with other wingers.
A 20 year old that is a competent passer and doesn’t lose possession? Make me a list of players that display those traits. It would be short, that much is certain.
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Iwobi’s direct style came into the spotlight last year. There isn’t much trickery, which cuts down the risk of errors. There isn’t much hesitation either, which does similarly. Iwobi takes on the ideals that the quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line, so why deviate?
The 20 year old was slightly critical of himself and his inability to put away what would have been the winning goal, but as mentioned, it’s hard to be too critical of him. It wasn’t a bad shot by any means. He squared himself up well. It required a full length save to make the stop. Next time around, I’ll bet he buries it.
Alex Iwobi may not do what Alexis Sanchez does at any point in his career, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be equally effective. He plays a much more quiet game than the dazzling wingers we are used to. But that’s perfectly okay.
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