Arsenal manager backs starlet for success

Alex Iwobi starred in Arsenal’s win over Hull City

Arsenal starlet Alex Iwobi may not have scored in the Gunners’ 4-1 win over Hull this weekend, but that didn’t stop his manager from praising him. Arsene Wenger was full of kind words for his Nigerian attacker in the aftermath of his club’s easy win over the Tigers.

While Iwobi didn’t score, he did pitch in two assists on the day for his squad. Wenger claimed that the 20-year-old attacker did exactly what he was looking for him to do in the comfortable victory. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise given how effective Iwobi was on the day.

It was clearly Iwobi’s best performance of the season by a wide margin. He earned a stellar Whoscored.com player rating of 8.53 during his 77 minutes on the pitch. His clever play in the offensive final third was a big reason that Alexis Sanchez and others were able to feast on Hull’s shaky defense.

Of course, succeeding against a 10-man Hull squad is much easier than what Iwobi will need to do to help his club catch Manchester City in the race for the Premier League crown. His manager admitted that his club is already playing catch-up behind Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut.

Even if Iwobi isn’t up to that Herculean task, his development is still good news for Arsenal. The Gunners aren’t blessed with a ton of homegrown young talent that’s ready to contribute at the Premier League level. If Iwobi can cement a place in the starting XI, it would be a big boost for everyone with the North London club. His success would certainly lessen the Gunners need to spend big in the transfer market on another attacker.

Alex Iwobi has a ton of career development ahead of him, but he’s already earned the faith of one of the toughest critics in England. Manager Arsene Wenger is already a believer.