Alex Iwobi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have both made the African Player of the Year 10-man shortlist and it seems like the inclusion of one of them is causing a bit of bother.
Alex Iwobi has certainly endured a mixed year, struggling as he was under Arsene Wenger.
Unai Emery’s arrival has breathed a new sense of belief back into the Nigerian and he has certainly finished the year a lot stronger than he started it. I doubt, however, you will find many people on the planet, even hardened Gooners, who think he has had a standout season, at least not domestically.
Aubameyang, meanwhile, slotted in at Arsenal seamlessly and carried on scoring at a ridiculous rate. At the time of writing, he has 22 goals and seven assists in just 34 games for the Gunners. There can be no complaints whatsoever about his inclusion.
THE TOP 10 SHORTLIST: African Player of the year #CAFAWARDS18 pic.twitter.com/0lTh0cNZyx
— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 14, 2018
The biggest talking point, however, seems to be the absence of Kalidou Koulibaly, a defender highly coveted across Europe.
When beIN Sports tweeted about his omission and the inclusion of Iwobi and Medhi Benatia, Benatia saw fit to respond:
Y’a quoi que tu comprends pas ?
— MBenatia5 (@MedhiBenatia) December 14, 2018
Quite simply he asks, “Is there something you don’t understand?”