It’s two years to the day that Alex Iwobi made his debut for Arsenal.

It was October 27th 2015 that the youngster made his first team debut in the 3-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup. It was hardly the most glamorous of beginnings, but it was a reward for his good form in pre-season and for the Arsenal youth teams.

Two years later, and Iwobi is very much part of the Arsenal first team squad. He’s now less a young player making his first strides in first team football and more a genuine option for Arsene Wenger to consider whenever he puts a starting eleven together. More often that not, he’s left out for other, more experienced options, but his squad status by this point is firmly established.

There is, though, a feeling that Iwobi has already fizzled out. The exciting form he exhibited in his breakthrough season and the first half of the 2015/16 season hasn’t been seen again. The inconsistency so often found in young attackers has taken hold, and shaking it off has proven difficult for someone who’s so in-and-out of the starting eleven. Meanwhile, bright, shiny new young talents – Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah – have emerged and distracted people from the promising 21-year-old already in the squad.

Arsene Wenger, though, still has Iwobi in his plans.

It was only recently that the manager praised the Nigerian international’s ability to advance the play and link-up with his team mates. He set him a challenge of scoring more goals and providing more assists, fully believing that Iwobi should be doing more with the great positions he takes up on the field. He has just the one goal so far, but he’s already a quarter of the way to matching his four goals from last season. With the chance he’ll get this season, he should surpass that.

In terms of squad hierarchy, Iwobi seems to be the backup for Mesut Ozil. It was him, and not the more experienced and productive Theo Walcott, who got a start at Stamford Bridge when the German wasn’t available. Following that, he kept his place in the team while Ozil recovered from his injury. It was in the recent game against Everton that Ozil returned to the starting eleven. If he isn’t getting Premier League minutes, Iwobi is at least playing in the Carabao Cup and the Europa League, fitness permitting.

There’s a desire to see young players continually evolve, season-on-season, but Iwobi is doing just fine with the minutes he’s being given.

To be immediate back-up to talents like Ozil and Alexis Sanchez isn’t a bad position to be in for a young player, nor should he be expected to take their place in the starting eleven.

For him, it should be all about doing the most with the opportunities he’s given, and putting himself at the front of Wenger’s thinking when has to replace his star attackers.

That would mean extra goals, assists and eye-catching performances when the chance arises, all things he’s well capable of doing.