by Nia Griffiths

After scoring his debut senior goal against Lyon in the Emirates Cup, Alex Iwobi has peeked interest throughout the footballing world – here’s a bit more about him.

The 19-year-old, originally from Lagos, signed his first professional contract with the Gunners in May 2014 after being at the club since he was nine-years-old. However, before this, Iwobi featured in five matches in the UEFA Youth League during the 13/14 season, in which he scored once against Marseille, and 10 times in the u21 Premier League.

During the 2014/15 season, the forward (although he identifies as a ‘left midfielder’), who just so happens to be nephew of Jay-Jay Okocha, appeared in six matches, scoring against Galatasaray’s u19s, once again, in the UEFA Youth League. In the u21 Premier League last season, he had significantly better luck and scored 10 goals in 19 appearances, including a hat-trick against Stoke.

Although the phrase ‘typical Arsenal player’ is thrown around often, sometimes without warrant, Iwobi really is a typical Arsenal player. He has this ability to run at defenses and leave them flabbergasted as he dances past them.

The youngster earned his time to shine properly in front of the boss against Singapore Select XI in the Barclays Asia Trophy. He got 72 minutes under his belt and obviously impressed enough to have Arsene Wenger select him for the Emirates Cup.

He showed during the match against Lyon that his finishing is superb, as he poked an expert assist from Aaron Ramsey into the net.

The youngster’s got a bright future at Arsenal and hopefully we see a lot more of him in the months to come.

Check out Iwobi’s highlights from his game against Singapore Select XI below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_5g3q-Kc_w