Alex Iwobi has admitted that he didn’t expect his ‘crazy’ path to the Arsenal first team; in fact, he thought he would be loaned out initially.

The forward broke into the first team last season after first team injuries once again forced Arsene Wenger to dig into our reserves. Usually, this method of papering over the cracks didn’t work as well as we wanted but this time, with Iwobi, we’d uncovered a gem.

And he’s well aware of how crazy this all is.

“I was looking at Hector [Bellerin] because he was someone who was near enough my age,” Iwobi told Sky Sports.

“I was looking at the way he did it and I thought maybe I’d have to go out on loan to get experience like he did.

“I looked up to a few guys and I wanted to do it like them but the fact I did it a different way, I’m proud of that.

“Every time I played for the U18s or the U21s, I just tried to perform to the best of my abilities and do the best I could.

“Whether I got the chance to play with the first team or train with the first team, I always tried to do my best.

“Where I am today is just crazy.”

It was never a case of ‘if’ with Iwobi, it was always ‘when’. I just don’t think anyone, himself included, expected that ‘when’ to be now.

The 20-year-old got the nod against Barcelona in the Champions League and, despite the loss, he was one of our stand out players. He’s not looked back since.

Iwobi has now been fully promoted to the first team. He’s made five Premier League appearances, assisting two goals, and he’s getting deserved praise after almost every match. If he continues to develop the way he has been, the sky’s the limit.