Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi

Iwobi playing for Arsenal in 2016
Personal information
Full name Alex Iwobi[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-03) 3 May 1996
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Playing position Winger, Forward
Club information
Current team
Arsenal
Number 17
Youth career
2004–2013 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Arsenal 23 (2)
National team
2011–2012 England U16 7 (1)
2013 England U17 3 (0)
2013 England U18 1 (0)
2015– Nigeria 7 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:19, 4 December 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:30, 9 October 2016 (UTC)

Alex Iwobi (born 3 May 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger and a striker for Premier League club Arsenal and the Nigeria national team.

Early and personal life

Iwobi was born in Lagos before moving to England at the age of four.[3][4] He is the nephew of ex-professional footballer Jay-Jay Okocha.[4]

Club career

Iwobi joined Arsenal while still at primary school,[5] and was first involved in a first-team match as an unused substitute in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on 25 September 2013.[6] He signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal in October 2015.[5]

2015–16 season

On 27 October 2015, Iwobi made his first-team debut for the club, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the League Cup.[7][8] He made his Premier League debut four days later in a 3–0 win against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, as a stoppage time substitute for Mesut Özil.[9] Iwobi made his Champions League debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5–1 defeat against Bayern Munich.[10] Iwobi started in the first team for the 2015–16 FA Cup 3rd and 4th round home wins against Sunderland and Burnley respectively.[11][12]

After getting a first Champions League start in a 3–1 away defeat to Barcelona,[13] Iwobi went on to score two goals in his first two Premier League starts in wins against Everton,[14] and Watford, respectively.[15]

2016–17 season

Iwobi changed squad number from 45 to 17, upon hearing that Alexis Sanchez will take up the newly vacated number 7 from the departing Tomáš Rosický.[16]

International career

After playing youth football for England,[17] Iwobi elected to play for Nigeria and made his senior debut on 8 October 2015, replacing Ahmed Musa in the 57th minute of a 2–0 friendly defeat to DR Congo in Visé, Belgium.[18]

He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[19]

Career statistics

Iwobi (right) playing for Arsenal U21s in 2015

Club

As of match played 3 December 2016.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2015–16[20] Premier League 13250102000212
2016–17[21] 10000205000170
Career total 23250307000382

International

As of match played 9 October 2016.[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Nigeria 201520
201651
Total71

References

  1. "Clubs announce 2015/16 Barclays Premier League squads". Premier League. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. "Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. Taylor, Daniel (26 March 2016). "How Arsenal's Alex Iwobi became England's loss and Nigeria's gain". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Profile". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Alex Iwobi signs new contract". Arsenal F.C. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. "Results/matches: 2013/14". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. "Arsene Wenger 'used too many senior players' in League Cup exit". BBC Sport. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. Luke Reddy (27 October 2015). "Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  9. Dafydd Pritchard (31 October 2015). "Swansea City 0-3 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  10. "Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal". BBC. 4 November 2015.
  11. Critchley, Mark (9 January 2016). "Arsenal vs Sunderland team news: Alex Iwobi handed first-team chance, Petr Cech starts in goal". The Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  12. Hytner, David (31 January 2016). "Arsène Wenger makes England quip over Arsenal's in-form Alex Iwobi". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  13. "Champions League: Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal (agg 5-1)". BBC. 16 March 2016.
  14. "Everton 0-2 Arsenal". BBC. 19 March 2016.
  15. "Arsenal 4-0 Watford". BBC. 2 April 2016.
  16. "Granit Xhaka to wear Arsenal No. 16 shirt, Alex Iwobi takes over No. 17". ESPN FC. 27 May 2016.
  17. "Profile". The Football Association. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  18. Oluwashina Okeleji (10 October 2015). "Arsenal's Alex Iwobi encouraged by Nigeria opportunity". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  19. Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  20. "Games played by Alex Iwobi in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  21. "Games played by Alex Iwobi in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  22. "Alex Iwobi". National Football Teams. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

External links

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