LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Alex Iwobi of Arsenal celebrates his team's 1-0 win in the FA Community Shield match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 2, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) — (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Arsenal Opinion

Iwobi talent really shows how bad Walcott and Ox have been

Do you think Theo and the Ox should leave?

Apr 6, 2016

The inclusion of Alex Iwobi in our first team has done two things.

Firstly, it has proven that Arsene Wenger does have an eye for talent, even if our youth system can be hit or miss.

Secondly, it has shone a light on how poor Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been, particularly this season.

19-year-old Iwobi is a product of the Arsenal academy, a fact that doesn’t quite hold as much intrigue as it once did, with numerous players showing ‘promise’ before spending season-after-season on loan and finally being shipped off to somewhere in the Championship for good. Many believe the Nigerian came out of nowhere, but Wenger seemingly had his eye on him for a long time.

After his inclusion in the Emirates Cup, where he showed huge potential, Iwobi made his competitive debut in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday. Embarrassingly, we lost 3-0 and although many hailed the forward as our only remotely bright spark on the evening, it was hard to get excited when we’d just been thumped by a Championship side.

518696998 alex iwobi of arsenal celebrates scoring his gettyimages — LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 02: Alex Iwobi of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Watford at Emirates Stadium on April 2, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Wenger continued to show faith in the youngster and he went on to appear in five FA Cup ties, two Champions League clashes, including a start against Barcelona away, and seven in the Premier League. During his two starts in the Premiership, Iwobi has scored two goals and, together with a newly fit Danny Welbeck, has injected some energy into a side, which has struggled in recent months.