It is hard to get carried away with an attacking performance against a lower-division team, but nothing Alex Iwobi did against Hull was down to the opposition being inferior.

It was a performance by an attacking midfielder that didn’t look out of place amongst more senior teammates.

To be successful in Arsenal’s system, the player playing in the number 10 position has to be available to receive the ball at all times.

With Hull playing five at the back and three defensive midfielders in front of them, finding space in such a crowded area was akin to finding Nemo.

Time and again, Iwobi found little pockets in which to work in.

Arsenal's Nigerian striker Alex Iwobi vies with Hull City's English defender Curtis Davies (R) during the English FA cup fifth round replay football match between Hull City and Arsenal at the KC Stadium in Kingston upon Hull in north east England on March 8, 2016. / AFP / Paul ELLIS
Arsenal’s Nigerian striker Alex Iwobi vies with Hull City’s English defender Curtis Davies (R) during the English FA cup fifth round replay football match between Hull City and Arsenal at the KC Stadium in Kingston upon Hull in north east England on March 8, 2016. / AFP / Paul ELLIS

It’s hard to accentuate just how important an ability this is for attacking midfielders to have, yet very few possess it.

Mesut Ozil has it. Aaron Ramsey has it. Cesc Fabregas had it.

It appears that Iwobi has it too. More importantly, once he’s in a position with the ball to create opportunities, he doesn’t rely on the same action over and over again.

Every time a Hull defender expected him to pass the ball forward, he had the agility to dribble past him. If that defender tried to anticipate a skill move, Iwobi had the presence to pass to an overlapping player.

No matter what decision he ended up making, it was done with enough speed to keep any momentum an attacking move had.

The only criticism one could have of Iwobi’s performance against Hull was that he was happy to get others involved in attacking moves, but was slightly reluctant to move into positions that would lead to himself being on the end of one.

There was only one, very well struck, effort on goal after a lay-off from Olivier Giroud that threatened to put him on the score sheet.

All in all, it was a very encouraging showing from a player that more and more may be required from if our first-team players keep getting injured at the current rate.

Is he good enough to force his way into the first team right away? No.

Is he someone who, with a little luck and a run of form, become an important member of the squad?

On Tuesday night’s showing, the answer is unequivocally yes.