Arsenal have reportedly agreed a five-year deal with Alex Iwobi worth £60k-per-week to the midfielder.
Alex Iwobi will sign a new five-year contract extension at Arsenal, putting pen to paper when the squad return from Singapore. Iwobi, highly rated by Emery, will double his wages with the new deal. [@Journo_Slash] #afc pic.twitter.com/1rTypaddfG
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) July 25, 2018
Reports over the summer had suggested that Iwobi was not in Emery’s plans but it seems as if these were mistaken.
Iwobi, 22, has certainly stalled since he broke through into the Arsenal first team under Arsene Wenger. I had been hopeful that under Emery he could kick on again and get back some of the sparkle we saw when he first made himself known to us so reports that he could be sold were concerning.
Thankfully, it seems like we need not have worried and can get back to looking forward to watching him start developing again.
Iwobi admitted that he ‘didn’t do well’ at the World Cup but admits being played out of position is a ‘sacrifice’.
Iwobi started for his country against Croatia before being benched for the games against Iceland and Argentina.
He played just one minute against each of those two teams and was substituted against Croatia. In total, Iwobi played just 62 minutes in Russia.
”The number ten position is where I have grown up playing. When I play out wide, it is normally to sacrifice to help the team but anywhere I am told to play, I don’t mind,” Iwobi told Kwese Sports Mimi Fawaz before the Super Eagles game against Argentina.
”I didn’t do well against Croatia, it was a hard game for everyone. Iceland, I came on and I did my best but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how I do as long as the team does well.”
In total, Iwobi has seven competitive international caps for his country since his debut in a friendly against DR Congo in October 2015.
Picking up a total of 22 caps, he has played 90 minutes just three times.
Nigeria finished third in Group D, one point behind second-placed Argentina. They won three points thanks to their 2-0 win over Iceland in their second game.