Ian Wright has praised Alex Iwobi and even believes that the Everton man is just what Arsenal are looking for now.
Iwobi has been the source of jokes for years now after Everton struck a huge deal worth around £34million for him in 2019.
The Nigerian had come through the Arsenal ranks and mostly featured as a winger before heading to Goodison Park.
That’s also how Everton utilised Iwobi to little effect, leaving many believing that he would simply never be a success on Merseyside.
Ian Wright has praised Alex Iwobi
Frank Lampard was completely revitalised Iwobi though, turning him from a winger into something of a box-to-box midfielder.
Iwobi has also shown quality as Everton’s playmaker in midfield, reinventing himself to save his Goodison Park career.
Lampard knows a midfielder when he sees one and he appears to have seen something in Iwobi, turning him into a key player.
Few could have really seen this rejuvenation from Iwobi but he is now almost undroppable for Everton.
Plaudits have been coming in for Iwobi and Ian Wright has now joined in.
Wright of course saw Iwobi come through at his beloved Arsenal and is loving this resurgence from the former Gunners.
Speaking on Wrighty’s House, Wright felt that Arsenal fans ridiculed Iwobi but he has always seen something in him as a midfielder.
Wright praised Iwobi’s ‘unbelievable’ work rate whilst suggesting that his pressing ability is exactly what Arsenal are actually looking for now under Mikel Arteta.
“I’m so pleased with the way it’s going for him,” said Wright. “I remember Arsenal fans, it’s the same thing they did with Oxlade-Chamberlain, they ridiculed him. I remember watching him play in midfield early days for Arsenal at West Ham, and you’re seeing something. His ball progression and work rate, what Frank has now recognised him and put him there, listen to the Everton fans when he’s doing his work, they are adoring him now. I’m loving the way it’s working out for Iwobi.”
“I’m just talking about somebody who’s making a massive difference to what Everton need – the work rate, his ball progression, his passing, everything. He’s the pass before the assist, people don’t realise it. Everton fans are now starting to realise that if they get the right players in and around him, he’s going to be a force for them. You look at his work rate, it’s unbelievable. It’s the kind of intensity that Mikel wants now and needs now, we need that, we need somebody who can press like that,” he added.
Arsenal couldn’t afford to turn down that kind of money for Iwobi, who wasn’t a key player under Unai Emery at the time.
It’s hard to see where Iwobi would get into this Arsenal team at the moment, but Edu is in the market for another midfielder to bolster Arsenal’s squad depth.
If Iwobi continues this kind of form, Edu may need to give him a call for a return to North London!
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